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Publication Number
US-9275842-B2
Publication Date
2016-03-01
Expiration Date
Abstract
Aspects and embodiments of the present invention are directed to spectrometry systems and for apparatus and methods for delivering dopants to same. In one example, there is provided a dopant delivery device configured to supply dopants to a spectrometry system comprising a tube including a first chamber and a second chamber, a first dopant source included in the first chamber, and a second dopant source included in the second chamber.
Core Innovation
A dopant delivery device supplies dopants to a spectrometry system by introducing a first dopant and a second dopant into a carrier gas in a dopant chamber of the spectrometry system. The device includes a tube with a first chamber and a second chamber, with a first plug proximate a first end and a second plug positioned remote from the first end and remote from a second end. A first dopant source is included in the first chamber and a second dopant source is included in the second chamber.
The tube structure is arranged to control permeation and release from each chamber into the carrier gas while limiting leakage and cross-contamination between the chambers. The device includes plugs and collars for sealing, and may include bores in a second chamber to release a dopant at a controlled rate. Tube wall permeability, optional pores or apertures, and different chamber wall materials and dimensions are used to tune permeation and release behavior.
The design further includes visual lifetime or expiration indication using a transparent tube wall with liquid-level markings and/or indicator materials or color-changing and time-sensitive indicators. The dopant delivery device is configured for integration with an ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) or an ion trap mobility spectrometer (ITMS) by using a dopant tube port and delivering released dopants into a carrier gas to improve detector signal. A loading approach is described in which the quantities are sized so that a first dopant depletes before the second dopant.
Claims Coverage
The claim set includes four independent claims directed to a multi-chamber dopant delivery device, a method of loading dopants into two chambers, and two apparatus configurations for releasing two dopants into a shared carrier gas from within the spectrometry system’s dopant chamber. Across these claims, the independent inventive structure centers on a tube with two chambers containing distinct dopant sources, each chamber configured to release its dopant into a carrier gas in the dopant chamber.
Dual-chamber dopant delivery tube with first and second plugs
A dopant delivery device with a tube including a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber defined by a wall of the tube and a first plug proximate a first end and a second plug positioned remote from the first end and remote from a second end, with a first dopant source in the first chamber and a second dopant source in the second chamber, configured to introduce the first dopant and the second dopant into a carrier gas in the dopant chamber.
Loading first and second dopant quantities into corresponding chambers
A method comprising loading a first quantity of a first dopant into a first chamber of a tube, wherein the tube includes the first chamber defined by a wall of the tube and includes a first plug located within a portion proximate a first end and a second plug located within the tube at a position remote from the first end and remote from a second end, and loading a second quantity of a second dopant into a second chamber of the tube.
First and second chambers coupled for release into carrier gas
An apparatus including a first chamber coupled to a second chamber wherein the first chamber includes a wall contiguous with a wall of the second chamber, the first chamber configured to retain a first dopant source and release a first dopant from an internal volume into a carrier gas in the dopant chamber, and the second chamber configured to retain a second dopant source and release a second dopant from an internal volume into the carrier gas in the dopant chamber.
Chambers of different materials for releasing first and second dopants
An apparatus including a first chamber coupled to a second chamber wherein a wall of the first chamber is formed of a material different from a material of which the second chamber is formed, the first chamber configured to retain a first dopant source and release a first dopant from an internal volume into a carrier gas in the dopant chamber, and the second chamber configured to retain a second dopant source and release a second dopant from an internal volume into the carrier gas in the dopant chamber.
The independent claims are directed to providing two distinct dopant sources in a tube having first and second chambers, with plug-based chamber definition and separation in one claim and coupled chamber geometries and/or different chamber wall materials in other claims, such that each chamber releases its dopant into a shared carrier gas in a dopant chamber of a spectrometry system. A separate independent claim covers loading the first and second dopants into the respective chambers of the tube.
Stated Advantages
Improves detector signal.
Documented Applications
Supplying dopants for an ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) and an ion trap mobility spectrometer (ITMS) by using integration with a dopant tube port and introducing released dopants into a carrier gas in a dopant chamber.
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