The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 30, 1999
Filed:
Aug. 29, 1997
Mahmoud F Abdel-Rahman, West Grove, PA (US);
William H Wilson, Newark, DE (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
In a discharge ionization detector, a method and apparatus are disclosed for increasing the transfer of photons and metastables from a discharge chamber to a ionization chamber, while effecting ion discrimination of the ionic current with respect to a signal cathode, thereby reducing the effect of ionic current in the signal output. Preferred embodiments of the invention include a discharge source located in a discharge chamber, means for introducing discharge gas flow into the discharge chamber, a flow guide that directs discharge gas flow between the discharge chamber and an adjacent ionization chamber, and inlet port for introducing a flow of sample gas containing an analyte into the ionization chamber and an outlet port for exhausting the sample gas and the discharge gas. A plurality of apertures in the flow guide are situated proximate the discharge source so as to promote the rapid and efficient transfer of photons and metastables from the discharge source into the ionization chamber. A signal cathode and the ionization chamber are biased in a circuit with an electrometer so as to provide a detector output signal.