High frequency wave heated plasma mass filter
AssigneeArchimedes Technology Group, Inc.
InventorsRichard L. Freeman, Robert L. Miller, John Gilleland, Tihiro Ohkawa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A material separator includes a chamber and electrode(s) to create a radially oriented electric field in the chamber. Coils are provided to generate a magnetic field in the chamber. The separator further includes a launcher to propagate a high-frequency electromagnetic wave into the chamber to convert the material into a multi-species plasma. With the crossed electric and magnetic fields, low mass ions in the multi-species plasma are placed on small orbit trajectories and exit through the end of the chamber while high mass ions are placed on large orbit trajectories for capture at the wall of the chamber.
Claims22
A plasma mass filter which comprises:
- a chamber having a substantially cylindrical wall, said chamber defining a longitudinal axis;
- a means for generating a magnetic field in said chamber with said magnetic field being directed along said axis;
- a means for generating an electric field in said chamber with said electric field being crossed with said magnetic field;
- a means for launching an electromagnetic wave into said chamber to create an ionization zone therein,
- a means for directing a feed into said ionization zone for heating thereof by said electromagnetic wave to create a multi-species plasma having ions of relatively high mass (M1) and ions of relatively low mass (M2);
- and
- a collector mounted on said wall to collect said ions of relatively high mass (M1) ejected from said multi-species plasma by said crossed electric and magnetic fields in said chamber.
A plasma mass filter for heating and ionizing a chemical mixture to produce a multi-species plasma, and for separating said multi-species plasma into ions of relatively high mass to charge ratio and ions of relatively low mass to charge ratio, said plasma mass filter comprising:
- a wall surrounding a volume and defining a longitudinal axis passing through said volume, said wall having a first end and a second end;
- a means for generating a magnetic field in said volume and having a magnitude B1 at said first end of said wall, a magnitude B0 at a point within said volume between said first end and said second end, wherein B1 is greater than B0 (B1>B0), and a magnitude B2 at said second end of said wall, wherein B2 is greater than B0 (B2>B0);
- a means for launching a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave into said volume to create an ionization zone therein, said electromagnetic wave having a frequency ω, wherein ω=eB0/m and e/m is the electron charge/mass ratio;
- and
- a means for generating an electric field in said chamber with said electric field being crossed with said magnetic field to place ions of relatively high mass to charge ratio on trajectories toward said wall for collection at said wall and to place ions of relatively low mass to charge ratio on trajectories towards said second end for collection at said second end.
A method for separating a chemical mixture into constituents, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a chamber having a substantially cylindrical wall extending between a first end and a second end, said chamber defining a longitudinal axis;
- introducing a gas into said chamber;
- generating a magnetic field in said chamber with said magnetic field being directed along said axis and diverging from a magnitude B1 at said first end to a magnitude B0 between said first end and said second end and converging from said magnitude B0 to a magnitude B2 at said second end, wherein B1 is greater than B0 (B1>B0) and B2 is greater than B0 (B2>B0);
- launching a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave into said chamber to create an ionization zone therein, said electromagnetic wave having a frequency ω, wherein ω=eB0/m and e/m is the electron charge/mass ratio;
- feeding the chemical mixture into said ionization zone for ionization and heating thereof by said electromagnetic wave to create a multi-species plasma having ions of relatively high mass (M1) and ions of relatively low mass (M2);
- and
- generating a radially oriented electric field in said chamber, said electric field and said magnetic field for interaction with said multispecies plasma to eject said high mass particles into said wall and for confining said low mass particles in said chamber during transit therethrough to separate said low mass ions from said high mass ions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.