Apparatus and method for electrostatically depositing aerosol particles
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for electrostatically depositing aerosol particles comprising:
- a particle generator selected from an induction particle generator, a flame spray pyrolysis generator, an ultrasonic particle generator and combinations thereof connected to an inlet passage adapted to carry a flow of aerosol in the direction of a center axis of the inlet passage;
a diverging section connected to the inlet passage, the diverging section comprising an outlet passage and a particle deposition passage, wherein the particle deposition passage forms a turn relative to the center axis of the inlet passage;
wherein the particle deposition passage comprises a charging zone comprising a charger and is adapted to receive a flow of aerosol from the inlet passage, an electrostatic deposition zone adapted to receive a flow of aerosol from the charging zone and an outlet passage positioned at the terminal end of the particle deposition passage; and
the electrostatic deposition zone comprises a pair of deposition electrodes spaced apart and facing one another.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus useful for electrostatic deposition (ESD) of aerosol particles and methods of depositing the aerosol particles onto a substrate are disclosed. The ESD apparatus and the method of the present invention are useful for electrostatically depositing nanoparticles produced by gas-phase synthesis onto a substrate where the velocity of the flow of aerosol can be controlled.
57 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for electrostatically depositing aerosol particles comprising:
-
a particle generator selected from an induction particle generator, a flame spray pyrolysis generator, an ultrasonic particle generator and combinations thereof connected to an inlet passage adapted to carry a flow of aerosol in the direction of a center axis of the inlet passage; a diverging section connected to the inlet passage, the diverging section comprising an outlet passage and a particle deposition passage, wherein the particle deposition passage forms a turn relative to the center axis of the inlet passage; wherein the particle deposition passage comprises a charging zone comprising a charger and is adapted to receive a flow of aerosol from the inlet passage, an electrostatic deposition zone adapted to receive a flow of aerosol from the charging zone and an outlet passage positioned at the terminal end of the particle deposition passage; and the electrostatic deposition zone comprises a pair of deposition electrodes spaced apart and facing one another. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A method for electrostatically depositing aerosol particles on a substrate, the method comprising:
-
generating an initial flow of aerosol comprising nanoparticles; passing the initial flow of aerosol across a diverging section that divides the initial flow of aerosol into a particle deposition stream and an outlet stream;
wherein at least the particles in the particle deposition stream flow at an angle and at a reduced velocity relative to the initial flow of aerosol;passing the particle deposition stream through a charging zone comprising a charger; applying direct current to the charger to charge the aerosol particles passing there between, forming charged aerosol particles; passing the charged aerosol particles between a pair of deposition electrodes, at least one having a substrate attached thereto; and applying direct current to the deposition electrodes to produce an electric field there between that deposits the charged aerosol particles comprising nanoparticles onto the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
-
Specification