Spark emission particle detector

1. A method for detecting particles, comprising:

receiving particles at an aerosol inlet of a detector;

carrying the received particles within a stream of gas;

charging the particles within the stream of gas using a charger to have a charge;

transporting the charged particles to the location of a collection electrode, the collection electrode being powered to an initial voltage and polarity with a high voltage power supply to attract and collect selected charged particles;

biasing the collection electrode with a high voltage pulse having an absolute value greater than an absolute value of the initial voltage using the high-voltage power supply to cause a spark between the collection electrode and a ground electrode; and

analyzing the spark to determine a property of the selected charged particles.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein charging the particles comprises:

charging the particles using a charger that comprises a unipolar charger.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein charging the particles comprises:

charging the particles using a charger that comprises a bipolar charger.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein charging the particles comprises:

charging the particles to apply a positive charge.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein charging the particles comprises:

charging the particles to apply a negative charge.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein charging the particles comprises:

charging the particles to apply a positive charge and a negative charge.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the particles comprises:

using the high-voltage power supply to cause a high-voltage difference to exist between the collection electrode and the grounding electrode, creating a dielectric breakdown in the gas.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein analyzing the particles comprises:

collecting emitted light of the spark using collection optics or fiber optics into a spectrometer or detector.

9. The method of claim 7 , comprising:

using spectroscopic algorithms and calibrations to determine desired atomic and molecular composition from the emitted light.

10. The method of claim 7 , comprising:

pulling the gas flow through measurement using a pump or pushing the gas flow by an upstream device.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the selected charged particles comprises analyzing the selected charged particles in real time.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein transporting the particles comprises focusing the charged particles mechanically or electrostatically in a focusing device to direct the particles to a location of a collection electrode.

13. The method of claim 1 , where the step of transporting the charged particles to the location of a collection electrode, further comprises:

collecting the selected charged particles at the collection electrode for a user specified time prior to biasing the collection electrode with the high voltage pulse.

14. A device for detecting particles, comprising:

an aerosol inlet to receive airborne aerosol particles;

a gas flow chamber to carry the received aerosol particles in a stream of gas or gas mixture;

an aerosol charger to place an electrostatic charge on the aerosol particles carried in the stream of gas or gas mixture to form charged particles;

a transport component to convey the charged particles to the vicinity of a downstream collection electrode;

a power supply to charge the downstream collection electrode to an initial voltage and polarity to cause the downstream collection electrode to attract selected charged particles, the power supply subsequently providing a high voltage pulse having an absolute value greater than an absolute value of the initial voltage to cause a spark discharge between the downstream collection electrode and a grounding electrode; and

an optical detector that receives light emitted by the spark discharge and detects a property of the selected charged particles from the received light.

15. The device of claim 14 , further comprising:

collection optics to collect an emission from the spark discharge of the downstream collection electrode.

16. The device of claim 14 , wherein the transport component comprises a focusing component to align the charged particles with the downstream collection electrode.

17. The device of claim 14 , wherein the high voltage power supply charges the downstream collection electrode for a user specified time prior to providing the high voltage pulse.

18. A device for detecting particles, comprising:

a gas flow chamber to receive aerosol particles and carry the received aerosol particles in a stream of gas or gas mixture;

an aerosol charger to place an electrostatic charge on the aerosol particles carried in the stream of gas or gas mixture to form charged particles;

a collection electrode downstream from the aerosol charger to attract selected polarity charged particles in response to a received initial voltage and polarity at the collection electrode from a power supply;

a grounding electrode to provide an electrical flow between the collection electrode and the ground electrode to produce a spark discharge on the collection electrode in response to a high voltage pulse from the power supply, wherein an absolute value of the high voltage pulse is greater than an absolute value of the received initial voltage; and

an optical detector that receives light emitted by the spark discharge and detects a property of the selected polarity charged particles from the received light.

19. The device as in claim 18 , comprising:

a pump coupled to the gas flow chamber to cause the stream of the gas or gas mixture to flow.

20. The device of claim 18 , wherein the power supply supplies the initial voltage and polarity for a user specified time prior to providing the high voltage pulse.