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. 06, 2012
Filed:
Dec. 17, 2007
Michael Vestel, San Francisco, CA (US);
Caterina Netti, Glasgow, GB;
Erkinjon Nazarov, Lexington, MA (US);
Gareth S. Dobson, Burlingame, CA (US);
Stephen L. Coy, Wayland, MA (US);
Richard Copeland, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Michael Coggiola, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Lawrence Dubois, Danbury, CT (US);
Alexander Hallock, Redwood City, CA (US);
Joseph R. Stetter, Hayward, CA (US);
Michael Vestel, San Francisco, CA (US);
Caterina Netti, Glasgow, GB;
Erkinjon Nazarov, Lexington, MA (US);
Gareth S. Dobson, Burlingame, CA (US);
Stephen L. Coy, Wayland, MA (US);
Richard Copeland, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Michael Coggiola, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Lawrence Dubois, Danbury, CT (US);
Alexander Hallock, Redwood City, CA (US);
Joseph R. Stetter, Hayward, CA (US);
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (US);
DH Technologies Development Pte. Ltd., Singapore, SG;
Renishaw Diagnostics Limited, Glasgow, GB;
Abstract
Detecting and identifying ions using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and an ion separation pre-filter, such as an ion spectrometer, are provided. The combination of an ion separator as a pre-filter for SERS provides a highly sensitive detector with very low false alarm rates. Target ions from an ionized sample are identified and separated by the ion separator. The target ions are steered and deposited onto a SERS substrate for Raman spectroscopic analysis with an optical probe. The Raman spectrum is compared with reference spectra and the composition of the sample is identified. The ion current from the target ions can also be measured, preferably concurrently with the Raman spectrum measurement. Types of ion separators include a differential ion mobility spectrometer, an ion mobility spectrometer, or a mass spectrometer.