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:
Jun. 01, 2010
Filed:
Jun. 29, 2006
Applicant:
Jeffrey A. Hopwood, Needham, MA (US);
Inventor:
Jeffrey A. Hopwood, Needham, MA (US);
Assignee:
Northeastern University, Boston, MA (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B23K 10/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
A system and method employing a microplasma to electrically charge nano- or micro-particles in a gas phase and, subsequently, trap the charged particles within the microplasma using the microplasma's built-in electric fields are disclosed. Confinement of the particles allows their density to be increased over time such that very low concentrations of particles can be detected, e.g., by methods such as laser scattering and/or detection of the plasma-induced charge on the particles. Preferably, charge detection methods are employed when nano-particles are to be trapped and detected.