Trace constituent detection in inert gases
US5892364A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 11, 1997 |
| Grant date | Apr 6, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 11, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N27/70
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus for the detection of trace constituents in inert gases. Three modes of operation of the said invention are most preferred. In the first embodiment, a dielectric barrier discharge cell receives an inert gas, excites the gas, and the gas is then allowed to mix with additional gas in which the constituent to be measured is entrained. Energy is then passed from the excited states of the inert gas to the analytes of interest creating charged analytes of interest which are then measured through the use of commercial electrometers. In a second embodiment, the dielectric barrier discharge device receives the analyte entrained within the inert gas and the gas and, in some cases, the analytes are excited. The excited species then pass on and any resulting ionized species are then detected through the use of an electrometer. In the third embodiment, the analyte is entrained within the inert gas in the presence of a second gaseous constituent, reacts with the gaseous constituent, and then passes on to a thermionic emitting source. The altered constituent is then selectively ionized by the thermionic source and this ion is measured by an electrometer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.