Monitoring device of gas introducing device for analyzer

• US 8,191,402 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2008
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kishita, Keisuke, Sakai, Hisashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Rogers, David
• Application Number:
  US12/523,370
• Publication Number:
  US 20100077873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 73/234.2, 137/255, 137/266, 137/602, 137/892
• US Class Current: 73/23.42
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0011 Sample conditioning preparing specimens for investigation G01N1/28
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/006 Details of gas supplies, e.g. in an ion source, to a beam line, to a specimen or to a workpiece, H01J37/3244 takes precedence; environmental cells for electron microscopes H01J2237/2003; microscopes with environmental specimen chamber H01J2237/2608
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2445 Photon detectors for X-rays, light, e.g. photomultipliers
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2446 Position sensitive detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/304 Controlling tubes
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/244 Detectors; Associated components or circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/252 Tubes for spot-analysing by electron or ion beams; Microanalysers
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/26 Electron or ion microscopes; Electron or ion diffraction tubes
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/265 Controlling the tube; circuit arrangements adapted to a particular application not otherwise provided, e.g. bright-field-dark-field illumination
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/87619 With selectively operated flow control means in inlet

Abstract

Gas is supplied from positive pressure (10⁵ Pa or more) to an analyzer of high vacuum (10⁻² Pa or less) precisely and stably, while keeping conditions constant and replicating the conditions, and performing switching to a desired gas within a short time. According to a gas introducing device and a method, a plurality of types of gases are synthesized in a mixing chamber, the synthesized gas is introduced and is decompressed by a decompression pump to a pressure ranging from 0.1 Pa to 0.1 MPa, and the decompressed gas is introduced to a gas analyzer through a switching operation using a gas switching valve.

Claims

1. A gas component monitoring device for monitoring components of the gas that has been synthesized in a gas introducing device for an analyzer, the gas introducing device comprising:

a gas synthesis portion that synthesizes a plurality of types of gases in a mixing chamber;

a pressure regulating portion that introduces the gas synthesized in the gas synthesis portion and decompresses the gas;

a gas switching portion including a gas switching valve that performs switching so as to introduce the decompressed gas from the pressure regulating portion to the analyzer, and a gas analyzer that analyses a component of the synthesized gas, wherein

the gas synthesis portion comprises a plurality of gas introducing paths leading from a plurality of gas sources to the mixing chamber via a pressure valve, a path for exhaustion from the mixing chamber to exterior via an open/close valve, and a path for introduction from the mixing chamber to the pressure regulating portion via a flow-control valve,

the pressure regulating portion comprises an introducing chamber that introduces gas from the gas synthesis portion, a path provided with a pump that decompresses the gas introduced in the introducing chamber to a pressure ranging from about 0.1 Pa to 0.1 MPa, and a path leading from the introducing chamber to the gas switching portion, and

the gas switching portion comprises a path guiding the gas from the pressure regulating portion to the analyzer via the gas switching valve, and a path for exhaustion to exterior via a pump.

2. The gas component monitoring device for monitoring components of the gas that has been synthesized in a gas introducing device for an analyzer according to claim 1, wherein

the gas introducing device comprises a gas controlling portion, wherein the gas controlling portion controls the pressure valve of the gas synthesis portion so as to regulate the gas synthesized in the gas synthesis portion in accordance with a gas component analysis result from the gas component monitoring device, controls the pump of the pressure regulating portion so as to allow the pressure regulating portion to decompress the introduced gas to a desired pressure, and switches the gas switching valve to supply a desired type of gas to the analyzer.

3. The gas component monitoring device for monitoring components of the gas that has been synthesized in a gas introducing device for an analyzer according to claim 1, wherein

the gas switching valve guides a desired gas to the analyzer through a desired path among a plurality of paths.