Gas analyzer manufacturer, Tiger Optics, has developed a new analyzer that, the company says, refines the detection of moisture in ammonia to levels down to 2 parts-per-billion (ppb), achieving five times the sensitivity of incumbent technology.
Just five years ago, Tiger introduced its original ALOHA H2O analyzer for the fast-growing High Brightness Light Emitting Diode (HB LED) market. With that, Tiger met the industry’s need to detect moisture in ammonia at levels to 10 ppb, as higher concentrations impair the electroluminescent intensity of HB LEDs and diminish process yields. This directly affects profit margins as brightness determines whether an LED finds use in a flat screen TV or is relegated to the nose of a child’s toy.
With the new ALOHA+ H2O analyzer, Tiger Optics continues to address the needs of HB LED makers, tool manufacturers, purifier makers and the gas companies that supply ammonia, the favoured source of nitrogen for the production of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor wafers, a core component of HB LEDs.
The compact ALOHA+ H2O analyzer fits two to a 19’-inch rack and features Tiger’s laser based technology. Often used in remote locations, where skilled technicians and support services are hard to come by, Tiger’s products require little maintenance and are easy to install and to operate.
Founded in 2001, the Pennsylvania-based company has earned its reputation for detecting trace levels of moisture in bulk and specialty gases. “When we entered the moisture in ammonia analysis market back in 2004, we did so with an analyzer that had the lowest detection limit available. Since then, the ‘Lowest Detection Limit’ (LDL) is a title that we have maintained,” said Lisa Bergson, Tiger Optics’ founder and chief executive. “We’ve developed close relationships with the leading gas manufacturers, purifier makers and end-users of ammonia. When they told us that they needed an analyzer that had limits lower than even our best analyzer, we developed the ALOHA+ H2O analyzer and reduced the LDL to an astonishingly low level of 2 ppb.”
At the Pittcon conference in Atlanta (6-10 March), laser-based trace gas analyzer manufacturer Tiger Optics LLC of Warrington, PA, USA exhibited the new ALOHA+ H2O analyzer, which refines the detection of moisture in ammonia to levels down to 2 parts-per-billion (ppb), achieving five times the sensitivity of incumbent technology, it is reckoned. Also at Pittcon, senior scientist Dr Florian Adler presented the paper 'Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy Analyzer for Trace Moisture Detection in Ultra-Pure Ammonia' in the Specialty Gas Analysis session.
Five years ago, Tiger introduced its original ALOHA H2O analyzer for the high-brightness light-emitting diode (HB LED) market, meeting the need to detect moisture in ammonia at levels to 10ppb, as higher concentrations impair the electroluminescent intensity of HB LEDs and diminish process yields. This directly affects profit margins, as brightness determines whether an LED finds use in a flat-screen TV or is relegated to use in lower-value consumer products.
"When we entered the moisture in ammonia analysis market back in 2004, we did so with an analyzer that had the lowest detection limit available," says founder & chief executive Lisa Bergson. "We've developed close relationships with the leading gas manufacturers, purifier makers and end-users of ammonia," she adds. "When they told us that they needed an analyzer that had limits lower than even our best analyzer, we developed the ALOHA+ H2O analyzer and reduced the LDL [lowest detection limit] to an astonishingly low level of 2ppb."
With the new ALOHA+ H2O analyzer, Tiger Optics is addressing the evermore exacting needs of HB LED makers, tool manufacturers, purifier makers and the gas companies that supply ammonia, the preferred source of nitrogen for the production of gallium nitride (GaN)-based HB LEDs.
The compact analyzer fits two to a 19'' rack and features the firm's proven cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) laser-based technology. Often used in remote locations (where skilled technicians and support services are not available) and offering a combination of sensitivity and robustness, the analyzers require little maintenance and are easy to install and to operate, says Tiger.
The Pennsylvania-based corporation has advanced the ALOHA+ H2O, which can detect moisture levels in NH3 down to two parts-per-billion (ppb) – five times the sensitivity of basic technology.
The original ALOHA H2O was launched five years ago for the high brightness (HB) LED market, as higher levels of NH3 can impair the electroluminescent intensity of HB LEDs and diminish process yields, and can measure moisture in NH3 at levels down to 10 ppb.
The new ALOHA+ H2O analyser improves upon its previous model, the original ALOHA H2O, as Tiger seeks to address the exacting needs of high HB LED producers and NH3supply companies.
The compact ALOHA+ H2O analyser features Tiger’s laser-based technology, and can be used in remote locations due it its easy installation and operating process. A press release from the company details that it offers “a rare combination of sensitivity and robustness.”
Lisa Bergson, Founder and CEO of Tiger, outlined, “When we entered the moisture in ammonia analysis market back in 2004, we did so with an analyser that had the lowest detection limit available. Since then, the lowest detection limit (LDL) is a title that we have maintained.”
The updated device will be exhibited at the Pittcon Conference in Atlanta, running from 6th-10thMarch.
Tiger Optics has advanced the ALOHA+ H2O, the world’s most sensitive detector for moisture (H2O) in ammonia (NH3), which can detect H2O levels in NH3 down to two parts-per-billion (ppb).
Tiger Optics Qualifies Fuel Cell Hydrogen: Testing fuel cell hydrogen is vital. As Toyota and other automakers bring new electric autos to market, Tiger's analyzers provide the sensitivity, selectivity and accuracy needed to measure contaminants that can damage or destroy a vehicle's fuel cell. In fact, Tiger Optics ranks as the top performer in a 2015 report funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Fuel Cell Technologies Office, entitled H2First Hydrogen Contaminant Detector Task. Of the technologies evaluated from ten different analyzer makers, Tiger's Continuous Wave Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CW-CRDS) provides the fastest response time, with the lowest maintenance. The report concluded that CW-CRDS is one of the two "most complete commercial-off-the-shelf technologies that could be used in a HCD [Hydrogen Contaminant Detector] application."
Tiger Optics wins California order to test hydrogen for FCEVs, reported by Fuel Cells Bulletin.
Spearheading the move to carbon-free transportation, the company announces its most recent order from the State of California to qualify the hydrogen (H2) required to operate fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).
Tiger’s analysers provide the sensitivity, selectivity and accuracy needed to measure certain contaminants that can damage or destroy a vehicle’s fuel cell. Because such quality control is crucial for FCEVs to achieve mass-market success, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International has set stringent standards for hydrogen fuel purity.
The issue is timely, as Toyota begins delivering its Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles to eight California dealerships in October this year. To build consumer confidence, the automaker is offering an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the Mirai FCEV, as well as free fuel for three years. At recent count, only nine hydrogen fuel stations in California were open to the public, but more are in the works.
The California Fuel Cell Partnership—a consortium of private and public entities—expects more than 50 stations to be operational in the state by the end of 2016. Indeed, California adopted legislation in 2013 to allocate $20m annually to build at least 100 hydrogen-fueling stations.
Randy Bramston-Cook, Principal at Lotus Consulting, reports, “We have found the Tiger Optics analysers easy to merge into our complete package, and their detection performance is well below target concentrations.”
The Lotus system incorporates Tiger Optics analysers to screen for three of the damaging contaminants: water, ammonia and formaldehyde, with carbon monoxide analysers pending.
“Tiger is proud to help Californians adopt cars that cut Greenhouse Gas emissions by more than 50% compared to our present vehicles,” states Jeremiah Riddle, Tiger Optics’ President.
The Acid Test: Faced with more stringent regulation of hydrogen chloride and the need for greater process control, coal-fired plants, cement companies and paper mills seek an effective, efficient and affordable analytical solution. This article offers a first-hand look at Tiger's Journey, from the rarified environment of the US National Metrology Institute to the base of an unheated, 100-meter umbilical at a coal-fired plant in Missouri, and beyond. Along the way, Tiger demonstrated that CRDS technology truly helps our nation's smokestack industries meet their commitments for a cleaner, safer environment. (Originally published in Gases & Instrumentation Magazine)
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