Inficon HAPSITE ER, Operating Manual, Page: 23 / 436

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7.5 Description of Subsystems
HAPSITE ER combines two analytical techniques, gas chromatography and mass
spectrometry, to separate and identify the organic components in a gas phase sample.
The HAPSITE ER software also allows for the quantification of analytes.
HAPSITE ER is comprised of the following subsystems:
• Gas Chromatograph, see Gas Chromatograph [
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• Mass Spectrometer, see Mass Spectrometer [
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24]
• Vacuum System, see Vacuum System [ } 26]
• Electronic Systems, see Electronic Systems [ } 27]
• Software systems, see Software Systems [
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27]
7.6 Gas Chromatograph
Gas Chromatograph (GC) performs a time separation of the sample compounds. The
separation order is primarily based on the volatility of the sample components.
HAPSITE ER GC system utilizes nitrogen as the carrier gas to transport analytes
through a column, of which the standard column is a narrow-bore fused silica tube 15
meters in length. The carrier gas is referred to as mobile phase. The inside of the
column is coated with a thin layer of a material known as stationary phase.
The time needed by an individual compound to travel through the GC column to the
detector is referred to as retention time (RT). If the GC conditions remain constant, the
compound will elute from the column at the same retention time on every analysis.