Advancements in compact gas collection and analysis from IARPA’s MAEGLIN program

Abstract

Chemical detection is a priority for the Intelligence Community (IC) with applications such as forensic analysis, border/facility protection, and stockpile/production monitoring. In particular, the IC has an interest in long term unattended monitoring for chemicals in the environment. The technology necessary for this type of monitoring must provide high sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy, be robust in the presence of complex chemical mixtures, and be contained in a small, ruggedized package for autonomous operation. The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) Molecular Analyzer for Efficient Gas-phase Low-power Interrogation (MAEGLIN) program is developing an ultra-low-power chemical analysis capability for the detection and identification of explosives, chemical weapons, industrial toxins and pollutants, narcotics, and nuclear materials in environments with significant background and interferent chemicals. In Phase 1 of the MAEGLIN program, performers developed individual component technologies for chemical collection, separation, and identification tasks, and in Phase 2, the integrated prototypes are being demonstrated. This presentation will discuss key advancements to date, including development of an array of micro ion trap mass spectrometers with dual photoelectric and electron impact ionization, a sector mass spectrometer with a charge coupled device (CCD) detector that uses permanent magnets for ion bending, a miniature tandem ion mobility spectrometer system with a wire grid fragmenter, adaptive multi-channel three dimensional gas chromatography, various active and passive microfabricated preconcentrators including one with a dedicated “hold and fire” stage for <0.25 second injection, and miniature electrostatic and Knudsen pumps. Three complementary end-to-end systems designs for VOC collection, analysis, and automated identification will also be described.