The concentration sensitivity of a thermal conductivity detector (TCD) depends, among other factors, on the amount of sample mixture in the detector's sensing cell. Since the cell volume has to be appropriately matched with column diameter, it makes the concentration sensitivity of a TCD dependent on column diameter and, therefore, on the speed of gas chromatography. Through reduction of column diameter, higher speed tends to lead to a reduction in the concentration sensitivity of the cell. The factor which the most directly affects the concentration sensitivity of a TCD cell is the heat power conducted through the cell. The higher the power, the greater the sensitivity. The limit of detection of a TCD depends on the concentration-sensitivity of its cell and on the level of statistical errors in the measurement. The errors increase with increasing analysis speed. As the column diameter is reduced, the errors cause additional worsening (on top of the decrease in concentration sensitivity) of the detection limit, dynamic range, and other performance characteristics of the TCD.
If the cell is filled with sample mixture from a GC column (a mixture of a sample with the carrier gas) then, because of the thermal conductance, A, of the cell and the temperature differ-