Back to results
US 3,944,826 AGranted
Methods and apparatus for analyzing mixtures
AssigneeApplied Research Laboratories S.A.
InventorAlan Lyle Gray
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of producing ionized material for mass analysis, in which ions are produced in a gaseous medium at high temperature in a region at substantially atmospheric pressure; the material is introduced into the medium, to be ionized, and the medium containing ions of the material is fed at low pressure to a mass analyzer.
Claims7
A method of analyzing a material which comprises the steps of:
- a. providing a gaseous medium;
- b. introducing said material into said medium;
- c. ionizing at least part of said medium in a first region to convert it to a plasma state, and thereby ionize said introduced material, with said plasma at substantially atmospheric pressure and substantially in a condition of thermal equilibrium;
- d. transferring a portion of said gaseous medium containing said ionized material to a second region at a pressure substantially lower than the pressure in said first region;
- and
- e. transferring said ionized material from said second region to a mass analyzer.
3 more elements
A method of analyzing a compound the constitution of which changes with temperature, which method comprises the steps of:
- a. providing a gaseous medium;
- b. ionizing at least part of said medium in a first region at a temperature above the temperature at which said compound will thermally change, the pressure of the medium in said region being substantially at atmospheric pressure;
- c. causing the temperature of the ionized medium to fall to a temperature which is at most slightly greater than the said temperature of thermal change of the compound, thereby providing a cooled quantity of said medium containing ions of the medium;
- d. introducing neutral particles of said compound into said cooled portion of the medium and thereby producing ions of said compound;
- e. transferring a portion of said gaseous medium containing ions of said compound to a second region at a pressure substantially less than atmospheric pressure, and
- f. transferring said ions of the compound from said second region to a mass analyzer.
3 more elements
A method of analysis of a material which comprises the steps of:
- a. providing a gaseous medium;
- b. subjecting said gaseous medium in a first region thereof substantially at atmospheric pressure to the action of high temperature in a zone substantially in a condition of local thermal equilibrium thereby to establish a high temperature plasma state in said medium;
- c. embodying said material in said medium thereby to produce ionisation of said material in said medium;
- d. transferring a portion of said gaseous medium containing said ionised material to a second region at a pressure substantially lower than the pressure in said first region;
- and
- e. transferring said ionised material from said second region to a mass analyser.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.