Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
130 words
A process for determining the thickness and/or change in thickness of a thin layer applied to a carrier, with the carrier coated with the thin layer being radiated with a plane polarized light beam and the reflectance on carrier and layer being detected, after which the measured amount of light detected is converted into a layer thickness and/or change in layer thickness, characterized in that the light reflected by the carrier and the thin layer is split into a p-polarized part and an s-polarized part, after which the respective reflection values R p and R s are measured simultaneously for the two parts, and the quantity is determined, in which formula m is a variable parameter and the quantity M is a function of the thickness of the thin layer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
130 words
A process for determining the thickness and/or change in thickness of a thin layer applied to a carrier, with the carrier coated with the thin layer being radiated with a plane polarized light beam and the reflectance on carrier and layer being detected, after which the measured amount of light detected is converted into a layer thickness and/or change in layer thickness, characterized in that the light reflected by the carrier and the thin layer is split into a p-polarized part and an s-polarized part, after which the respective reflection values R p and R s are measured simultaneously for the two parts, and the quantity is determined, in which formula m is a variable parameter and the quantity M is a function of the thickness of the thin layer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
73 words
A process according to claim 1, characterized in that use is made, for determining the degree of growth of organic layers on a carrier, of a carrier previously coated with a thin layer of a transparent inorganic material or of an organic polymer of such a thickness that there is an almost linear relation between the quantity M and the thickness of the organic layer built up on the previously applied thin layer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
59 words
A process according to claim 2, characterized in that a carrier is used which is coated with a thin layer of transparent inorganic material or of an organic polymer of such a thickness that there is an almost linear relation between the quantity M and the thickness of the organic layer built up on the previously applied thin layer.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
56 words
A process according to any one of the claims 1-3, characterized in that the carrier used is a prism, with the light being directed to the prism in such a way that it will enter and leave through the respective lateral faces and be reflected on the base face on which the thin layer is present.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
A process for determining protein/carrier and protein/protein interactions, characterized in that the process according to any one of the claims 1-4 is applied a number of times using, in succession, different protein solutions.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
44 words
A means for carrying out the process according to claim 5, comprising a plate-shaped or prism-shaped carrier having one surface coated with a thin layer of a transparent inorganic material or with an organic polymer material of a thickness of at least 40 nm.