Patent ID: 7112443

Claim:
A method for screening an array of materials for permeability, the method comprising: providing a library of at least four material samples, each of the at least four samples including a first surface and a second surface; exposing the first surface of each of the at least four material samples to at least one of a plurality of exposure openings; exposing the second surface of each of the at least four material samples to at least one of a plurality of sensor openings, each of the plurality of sensor openings having at least one of a plurality of sensors associated therewith; introducing at least one permeate fluid into the plurality of exposure openings; monitoring any amount of the permeate fluid that accumulates in the plurality of sensor openings with the plurality of sensors; purging the permeate fluid from the plurality of sensor openings when the concentration of the permeate fluid rises to a predetermined level; and correlating a rate of purging the permeate fluid from the plurality of sensor openings to a permeability for each of the at least four material samples.