Dilution mechanism, particle size distribution measurement system, particle size distribution measurement method, and program for particle size distribution measurement

1 . A dilution mechanism used with a particle size analyzer that measures a particle size distribution using a dynamic light scattering technique, the dilution mechanism comprising:

a sample line that guides a sample containing particles to the particle size analyzer;

a dilution line that merges with the sample line and through which a diluent flows;

at least one fluid control valve configured to adjust a concentration of particles contained in diluted sample;

a conductivity measuring unit that measures a conductivity of the diluted sample; and

a hardware processor that controls the at least one fluid control valve to bring the conductivity measured by the conductivity measuring unit or to bring a conductivity-related value that is a value calculated from the conductivity, to a predetermined target value.

2 . The dilution mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the hardware processor calculates a concentration of the particles in the diluted sample as the conductivity-related value, from the conductivity measured by the conductivity measuring unit, wherein

the hardware processor controls the at least one fluid control valve to bring the calculated concentration to the target value.

3 . The dilution mechanism according to claim 1 , further comprising a correlation data storage that stores correlation data indicating a correlation between the conductivity of the diluted sample and the particle concentration of the sample, wherein

the hardware processor is configured to calculate the concentration of the particles contained in the diluted sample using the correlation data.

4 . The dilution mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one fluid control valve is provided to at least one of the sample line and the dilution line.

5 . The dilution mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the sample line is configured to collect the sample from a manufacturing system used in a predetermined manufacturing process.

6 . A particle size distribution measurement system comprising:

the dilution mechanism according to claim 1 ; and

a particle size analyzer that measures the particle size distribution of particles contained in the sample diluted by the dilution mechanism, using the dynamic light scattering technique.

7 . The particle size distribution measurement system according to claim 6 , wherein the sample contains a chemical component resulting a correlation between the concentration of particles contained in the sample and the conductivity of the sample.

8 . A particle size distribution measurement method for measuring a particle size distribution using a dynamic light scattering technique, the method comprising:

a step of guiding a sample containing particles to a particle size analyzer through a sample line;

a step of merging a diluent to the sample line;

a step of adjusting a concentration of the particles contained in the diluted sample using at least one fluid control valve;

a step of measuring conductivity of the diluted sample using a conductivity measuring unit; and

a step of controlling the at least one fluid control valve to bring the conductivity measured by the conductivity measuring unit or to bring a conductivity-related value that is a value calculated from the conductivity, to a predetermined target value.

9 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a particle size distribution measurement program used in a particle size distribution measurement system comprising:

a particle size analyzer that measures a particle size distribution using a dynamic light scattering technique;

a sample line that guides a sample containing particles to the particle size analyzer;

a dilution line that merges with the sample line and through which a diluent flows;

at least one fluid control valve that adjusts a concentration of the particles in the diluted sample; and

a conductivity measuring unit that measures conductivity of the diluted sample, the program causing a computer to control the at least one fluid control valve to bring the conductivity measured by the conductivity measuring unit or to bring a conductivity-related value that is a value calculated from the conductivity, to a predetermined target value.