NASA SBIR SUCCESS STORY Ames Research Center
1989 and 1995 Phase II

Ion Mobility Spectrometer

PCP, Inc.

West Palm Beach, FL

INNOVATION
    Detection and identification of extremely low concentrations (down to 10**-14 moles per second) of hydrocarbons by ionization then electronically measuring the ion signals and drift times.


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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
    • PCP demonstrated the sensitivity of the Ion Mobility Spectrometer IMS) to analyze aliphatic hydrocarbons at concentrations down to 10**-14 moles per second, the first time that such low levels of these hydrocarbons have been measured.
COMMERCIALIZATION
    • Third IMS have been sold to various companies to measure air pollutants and to serve as detector of certain hazardous hydrocarbons. The total revenue from these sales totals $780K
GOVERNMENT/SCIENCE APPLICATIONS
    • The SETI Institute awarded a $37K contract to develop a similar ion mobility spectrometer. The IMS technology was included in a major flight experiment proposals, the mini-Cometary Ice and Dust Experiment (m-CIDEX) during the Cometary Coma Chemical Composition Mission.
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