Detecting, classifying and localizing minor amounts of an element within a sample of material
US6895370B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 9, 2004 |
| Grant date | May 17, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 20, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2201/1293
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Minute amounts of material, such as a contaminant, are detected, classified and located using a single procedure that eliminates the need for using complex and sometimes redundant instrumentation setups, multiple (and sometimes overlapping) analytic processes, or both. In one embodiment, a series of processing steps enables one to detect, classify, and localize minute amounts of particular elements, e.g., contaminants, in material being tested. Data sets, suitable for characterizing components of samples at least spectrally and spatially, are collected from at least one uncontaminated sample of material (the “baseline” or “control”) and a sample of material under test (MUT) that may contain contaminants. Comparison of these data sets, using the procedures of the present invention, enables ready classification of minute amounts of material in any sample. The present invention may be used for liquids, solids, and gases, with specific application to gels, pastes, hard powders, soft powders, films, inorganics, and pharmaceuticals.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.