Method and apparatus for testing chemical and ionic sensors
First Claim
1. Apparatus for automatically testing a plurality of chemical and ionic sensing electronic circuits comprising:
- a fluid confining cell having at least one open orifice to contain a known test fluid,means for receiving a first sensing electronic circuit device of a plurality of such sensing electronic circuit device on a continuous surface, in which said means for receiving comprises an exposed sensing layer to be tested, and for aligning said circuit device such that said sensing layer is aligned with said orifice in said fluid confining cell,positioning means for urging the open orifice of said fluid confining cell into leakproof engagement with said sensing electronic circuit device to be tested,wherein when said cell is filled with said known test fluid, said test fluid contacts said exposed sensing layer, andmeans for monitoring the response of said circuit device to said test fluid,wherein said aligning means automatically selects and positions in succession a plurality of sensing electronic circuit devices on said continuous surface with respect to said positioning means.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for automatically testing chemical and ionic sensing electronic circuits is provided. A fluid used in testing is placed in a hollow pipette with at least one open end. The open end of the pipette is applied directly against a sensing layer on the sensing electronic circuit forming a leakproof seal. Alternatively, a flow-through type fluid container is used and is advantageously applied with gas measurements. Test electronics are provided to compile and analyze the performance of various sensing layers. Aligning means automatically select a sensing electronic circuit and position the circuit such that the holding device can be urged against the sensing layer automatically.
210 Citations
22 Claims
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1. Apparatus for automatically testing a plurality of chemical and ionic sensing electronic circuits comprising:
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a fluid confining cell having at least one open orifice to contain a known test fluid, means for receiving a first sensing electronic circuit device of a plurality of such sensing electronic circuit device on a continuous surface, in which said means for receiving comprises an exposed sensing layer to be tested, and for aligning said circuit device such that said sensing layer is aligned with said orifice in said fluid confining cell, positioning means for urging the open orifice of said fluid confining cell into leakproof engagement with said sensing electronic circuit device to be tested, wherein when said cell is filled with said known test fluid, said test fluid contacts said exposed sensing layer, and means for monitoring the response of said circuit device to said test fluid, wherein said aligning means automatically selects and positions in succession a plurality of sensing electronic circuit devices on said continuous surface with respect to said positioning means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for testing a plurality of chemical and ionic sensing electronic circuits comprising the steps of:
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(a) aligning a first sensing electronic circuit device of a plurality of such sensing electronic devices on a continuous surface and a fluid confining cell with respect to one another such that said fluid confining cell is aligned with a sensing layer of said circuit device, said cell having at least one orifice and being capable of containing a test fluid when said orifice is urged against a continuous surface, (b) urging said orifice against said sensing layer so as to form a leakproof seal, (c) filling said fluid confining cell with a test fluid so that said test fluid contacts said sensing layer, and (d) measuring the response of said circuit device to said test fluid, to characterize said circuit device, (e) and then repeating the above steps (a) through (d) so that a plurality of other sensing electronic circuit devices on said continuous surface are tested in succession to permit measuring the response of each of the circuit device to said test fluid, to characterize each of the said circuit devices. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification