Electrical mobility separation of airborne particles using integrated microfabricated corona ionizer and separator electrodes

Beelee Chua, Anthony S. Wexler, Norman C. Tien, Debbie A. Niemeier, Britt A. Holmen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Airborne particles are separated according to their electrical mobilities using a microfabricated corona ionizer and separator electrodes. Oleic acid particles with sizes ranging from 30 to 300 nm are used to characterize the device. They are generated using a TSI 3075 constant output atomizer. These particles are electrically charged by a microfabricated corona ionizer, and the resultant particle electrical mobility is a function of the size of the particle. A varying dc potential difference of 0-2 kV across the separator electrodes selects charged particles of various electrical mobilities. These separated particles are subsequently counted using a TSI 3025A Condensation Particle Counter. The device demonstrated its ability to separate particles between 50 and 130 nm into five distinct size bins. The operational flow rate is 0.5 L/min, and the micropin-between-planes corona ionizer operates at 1.3 kV with 7 μA. The theoretical and experimental electrical mobilities of the particles are compared.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4-13
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Microelectromechanical Systems
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Aerosol instrumentation
  • Corona ionizer
  • Particle electrical mobility
  • Particle separation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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