A microelectromechanical heating apparatus and fluid preconcentrator device utilizing
same wherein heating elements of the apparatus are sized and spaced to substantially
uniformly heat a heating chamber within a heater of the apparatus. Tall, thermally-isolated
heating elements are fabricated in Si using high aspect ratio etching technology.
These tall heating elements have large surface area to provide large adsorbent
capacity needed for high efficiency preconcentrators in a micro gas chromatography
system (GC). The tall heating elements are surrounded by air gaps to provide
good thermal isolation, which is important for a low power preconcentrator in the
GC system.
