Gas phase R\&D for the Enriched Xenon Observatory

The EXO (Enriched Xenon Observatory) collaboration will search for neutrinoless double beta decay using Xe-136. A liquid-phase prototype, EXO-200, is currently being commissioned and will use 80\% enriched Xe-136 to reach an expected sensitivity of the double beta decay mass of approximately 150 meV. Complimentary efforts are underway to explore a gas phase detector option. The current status of the EXO gas phase, which is studying the use of Micromegas and electroluminescence techniques, will be presented. Progress towards a gas phase prototype, which will be used to evaluate the ultimate energy resolution and track reconstruction achievable for 1 MeV electrons, will be shown.