NANO-PARTICLE TRAP USING A MICROPLASMA
First Claim
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1. A system for detection of particles in a gas, said system comprising:
- a trap comprising a microplasma generator that provides a microplasma, said microplasma configured to trap said particles within said microplasma; and
a particle sensor that measures at least one of the particle count and the size distribution of said particles in said gas.
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Abstract
A system and method employing a microplasma to electrically charge nano- or micro-particles in a gas phase and, subsequently, trap the charged particles within the microplasma using the microplasma'"'"'s built-in electric fields are disclosed. Confinement of the particles allows their density to be increased over time such that very low concentrations of particles can be detected, e.g., by methods such as laser scattering and/or detection of the plasma-induced charge on the particles. Preferably, charge detection methods are employed when nano-particles are to be trapped and detected.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system for detection of particles in a gas, said system comprising:
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a trap comprising a microplasma generator that provides a microplasma, said microplasma configured to trap said particles within said microplasma; and a particle sensor that measures at least one of the particle count and the size distribution of said particles in said gas. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16)
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11. A method of trapping and detecting particles in a gas phase, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a microplasma generator; forming a microscopic glow discharge (microplasma) with said generator; feeding said microplasma with a sample of gas from said gas phase, wherein particles in the vicinity of said microplasma become negatively charged, trapped and concentrated within said microplasma; detecting said particles trapped within said microplasma to determine at least one of particle count and size distribution of said particles. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 17)
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Specification