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US 5,184,016 AGranted
Glow discharge spectrometry
AssigneeVG Instruments Group Limited
InventorsGerard A. Ronan, Alistair Cole
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AssigneeVG Instruments Group Limited
InventorsGerard A. Ronan, Alistair Cole
Estimating the term…
The invention provides glow discharge optical or mass spectrometers wherein a solid sample may be mounted in a unitary source assembly adjacent to a first electrode means. A second electrode means, spaced from sample by an insulating washer, is also part of the source assembly and engages with a discharge chamber into which a discharge gas is introduced. A glow discharge is maintained in the discharge by a potential differential difference applied between the first and second electrode means. In a mass spectrometer, ions formed in the discharge pass to a mass analyzer, while in an optical spectrometer, optical radiation form the discharge is spectroscopically analyzed. Particularly in the case of a mass spectrometer, the source assembly may be mounted on an insertion probe allowing it to be easily withdrawn from the vacuum envelope to facilitate sample changing and maintenance.
A spectrometer for the analysis of a solid sample, said spectrometer comprising a discharge chamber into which a discharge gas may be introduced, means for maintaining a glow discharge in said discharge chamber adjacent to a said solid sample, and means for analyzing emission from said glow discharge which is characteristic of said solid sample, wherein there is also provided a unitary source assembly engagable with said discharge chamber and wherein:
A method for the spectrometric analysis of a solid sample comprising maintaining a glow discharge in a discharge gas contained in a discharge chamber and adjacent to said sample, and spectrometrically analyzing emission from said discharge which is characteristic of said sample, said method further comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.