SBIR Phase I: Compact, Low-Cost, Time-of-Flight Residual Gas Analyzer

First Point Scientific, Inc., Agoura Hills CA

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new type of residual gas analyzer based on a novel ion-trapping concept. The new instrument will have significant cost and size advantages over current commercially available residual gas analyzer (RGA) systems. If the concept is successful, it has the potential to provide performance capabilities exceeding current RGA technology. The new trap also has potential application as a general purpose ion source for precision mass spectrometry. Phase I will: (1) design and construct a proof-of-principle experiment to demonstrate the novel ion trap as an ion source for a compact RGA; (2) conduct experiments to characterize the performance of the new instrument; and (3) evaluate possible extensions of the instrument and develop the conceptual design for a Phase II laboratory demonstration instrument. These new RGA instruments are expected to reduce capital and manufacturing costs in industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, vacuum coating, electro-optics, chemical processing, and environmental monitoring. It will also make RGAs more available to new users in industry and university research laboratories, who presently cannot afford such instruments.