US5958348A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Efficient production of particles by chemical reaction
Assignee: Nanogram Corp
•
Filing: 1997-02-28
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Granted: 1999-09-28
•
Expires: 2017-02-28
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus efficiently produces of particles from gas phase chemical reactions induced by a radiation beam. The apparatus includes a reaction chamber and an elongated reactant inlet, where the reaction chamber is configured to conform generally to the elongated shape of the reactant inlet. Shielding gas may be introduced to form a blanket of inert gas on both sides of the reactant stream. A feed back loop may be used to maintain the desired pressure within the reaction chamber.
Inventors
- 👤 Xiangxin Bi
- 👤 Nobuyuki Kambe
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 21:30
CPC Classifications
C; C01; C01B; C01B32/00; C01B32/90; C01B32/914; B; B01; B01J; B01J19/00; B01J19/08; B01J19/12; B01J19/122; B01J12/00; B01J12/005; B01J12/02; B01J19/121; B82; B82Y; B82Y30/00; B82Y40/00; C09; C09C; C09C1/00; C09C1/44; C09C1/48; C01P; C01P2004/00; C01P2004/60; C01P2004/64; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S266/00; Y10S266/905; Y10S977/00; Y10S977/70; Y10S977/773; Y10S977/832; Y10S977/835; Y10S977/838; Y10S977/84
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
142 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber having a chamber section with a cavity; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber; and c) a particle stream within the cavity, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet, and configured to have a beam of radiation projected through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream, wherein the reactant stream and confining inert gas stream occupy greater than about 50 percent of the volume of the cavity.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
142 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber having a chamber section with a cavity; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber; and c) a particle stream within the cavity, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet, and configured to have a beam of radiation projected through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream, wherein the reactant stream and confining inert gas stream occupy greater than about 50 percent of the volume of the cavity.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a conduit for introducing shielding gas into the reaction chamber.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pair of conduits for introducing shielding gas into the reaction chamber, each of the conduits being positioned at an angle relative to the elongated reactant inlet such that they define a path intersecting the reactant stream.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a conduit for introducing shielding gas, the conduit terminating along a surface of the reaction chamber.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
61 words
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more inert gas inlets configured to form a confining stream of inert gas surrounding at least a portion of the reactant stream and wherein the reaction chamber is configured such that the reactant stream and the confining stream of inert gas occupy a significant fraction of the volume of the reaction chamber.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
70 words
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pair of elongated conduits for introducing shielding gas into the reaction chamber, each of the conduits being respectively positioned on either side of the elongated reactant inlet to form shielding gas streams confining the reactant stream, wherein the reactant chamber is configured such that the reactant stream and the shielding gas streams occupy a majority of the volume of the reactant chamber.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 1, herein the reaction chamber comprises a window for introducing the beam of radiation into the reaction chamber.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
61 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reactant chamber comprises a tube, with an inner diameter no more than twice the width of diameter of the radiation beam, oriented along the radiation path and a window for introducing the radiation beam into the reaction chamber, where the window is located near the end of the tube away from the reactant stream.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reaction chamber comprises a pair of windows along the radiation path.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reaction chamber further comprises a mirror along the radiation path.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a laser for producing the beam of radiation.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus further comprises a particle collection system.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the apparatus can operate in a continuous mode where previously produced particles are removed from the particle collection system while particles are continuously produced.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reactant stream and confining inert gas occupy greater than about 80 percent of the volume of the cavity.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reactant stream and confining inert gas occupy greater than about 90 percent of the volume of the cavity.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
140 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber having a chamber section with a cavity; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber; and c) a particle stream within the cavity, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet, and configured to have a beam of radiation projected through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream, wherein the volume of the cavity is no more than about 20 times the volume of the reactant stream.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
140 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber having a chamber section with a cavity; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber; and c) a particle stream within the cavity, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet, and configured to have a beam of radiation projected through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream, wherein the volume of the cavity is no more than about 20 times the volume of the reactant stream.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the volume of the cavity is no more than about 10 times the volume of the reactant stream.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the volume of the cavity is between about 2 times and about 4 times the volume of the reactant stream.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
131 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber, the major axis of the reactant inlet corresponding to an elongated dimension of the inlet; and c) a cylindrical lens, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet, and configured to have a beam of radiation projected through the cylindrical lens and through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
131 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber, the major axis of the reactant inlet corresponding to an elongated dimension of the inlet; and c) a cylindrical lens, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet, and configured to have a beam of radiation projected through the cylindrical lens and through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the cylindrical lens focuses the light along the direction of the flow of the reactant stream.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the reaction chamber further comprises a tube oriented along a radiation path, and wherein the cylindrical lens is mounted on the tube.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
35 words
The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the reaction chamber further comprises a second tube oriented along the radiation path, the second tube comprising a window such that the radiation beam can exit the reaction chamber.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the tube comprises an inert gas port.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
137 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber having a chamber section with a cavity; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber; and c) a particle collection system providing for the continuous operation of the apparatus such that particles can be collected without halting particle production, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet, and configured to have a beam of radiation projected through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
137 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber having a chamber section with a cavity; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber; and c) a particle collection system providing for the continuous operation of the apparatus such that particles can be collected without halting particle production, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet, and configured to have a beam of radiation projected through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
139 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber having a chamber section with a cavity; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber; and c) a particle collection system, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet and to have a beam of radiation projected through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream, wherein the reactant stream and confining inert gas stream occupy greater than about 50 percent of the volume of the cavity.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
139 words
An apparatus comprising: a) a reaction chamber having a chamber section with a cavity; b) an elongated reactant inlet generally characterized by a major axis and a minor axis for introducing a stream of reactant gas into the reaction chamber; and c) a particle collection system, the reaction chamber configured to conform generally to the shape of the elongated reactant inlet with a cross section perpendicular to the reactant flow having a major axis oriented in a direction generally corresponding to the major axis of the inlet and to have a beam of radiation projected through the reaction chamber along a radiation path corresponding to the major axis of the elongated reactant inlet and intersecting the reactant stream, wherein the reactant stream and confining inert gas stream occupy greater than about 50 percent of the volume of the cavity.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-09-27 | 2003-03-29 | 2003-09-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-09-27 | 2007-03-29 | 2007-09-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-09-27 | 2011-03-29 | 2011-09-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |