IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,467,135
Granted Patent B2
US 12,467,135 · App. 18/025,166 · Granted Nov 11, 2025

Resistive coating for a capillary

Inventors: Richard G. Closser (Mountain View, CA); Elizabeth Carr (Mountain View, CA)
Assignee: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
C23C16/403C09D1/00C23C16/045C23C16/45529C23C16/45555C23C16/56H01J49/0404
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,467,135
App. No.
18/025,166
Granted
Nov 11, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A coated capillary tube having a tunable resistance in an ion transfer device, including an inlet end in communication with an atmospheric-pressure ion source, an outlet end in communication with a vacuum region of a mass spectrometer, a body elongated along an axis from the inlet end to the outlet end, and an inside surface defining a bore having an inner diameter is disclosed. The coated capillary tube also includes a resistive coating on the inside surface of the capillary tube, in which the resistive coating includes at least one layer comprising oxides or nitrides of a metal and discrete metal particles of a different metal embedded therein.

Claims (43)

1 . A coated capillary tube having a tunable resistance coating in an ion transfer device, comprising:

an inlet end in communication with an atmospheric-pressure ion source;

an outlet end in communication with a vacuum region of a mass spectrometer;

a body elongated along an axis from the inlet end to the outlet end;

an inside surface defining a bore having an inner diameter; and

a resistive coating on the inside surface of the capillary tube, the resistive coating comprising:

at least one layer of a metal comprising metal oxides or metal nitrides, and discrete metal particles of a different metal embedded in the at least one layer of the metal.

2 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxides include a metal oxide of Al2O3, TiO2, Y2O3, Ta2O5, HfO2, ZrO2, SiO2 or a combination thereof.

3 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein the resistive coating further comprises a metal or metal oxide of Pt, Ru, W, Mo, or a combination thereof.

4 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein the resistive coating includes a total end-to-end resistance of from about 100 MOhm to about 50 GOhm.

5 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein the resistive coating includes a total temperature coefficient of resistance of from about −2%/° C. to about −1%/° C.

6 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein a length of the capillary tube is from about 75 mm to about 200 mm; an outer diameter of the capillary tube is from about 5 mm to about 10 mm; and an inner diameter of the capillary tube is from about 0.1 mm to about 2.0 mm.

7 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein the bore includes a sheet resistance that decreases in resistance on one or both ends of the capillary tube.

8 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein the resistive coating further comprises a base layer, a final layer, or both.

9 . The capillary tube of claim 8 , wherein the final layer includes a thickness that is greater than a diameter of the discrete metal particles.

10 . The capillary tube of claim 8 , wherein the base layer includes a thickness that is greater than a diameter of the discrete metal particles.

11 . The capillary tube of claim 8 , wherein the base layer, the final layer, or both comprise oxides or nitrides of a metal.

12 . The capillary tube of claim 8 , wherein the base layer comprises a plurality of sublayers of metal oxides, metal nitrides, or a combination thereof;

wherein the at least one layer including discrete metal particles comprises a plurality of sublayers including a plurality of discrete metal particles; and

wherein the final layer comprises a plurality of sublayers of metal oxides, metal nitrides, or a combination thereof.

13 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein the at least one layer comprises a plurality of alternating layers including a plurality of layers including discrete metal particles and a plurality of layers including oxides or nitrides of the metal.

14 . The capillary tube of claim 1 , wherein the at least one layer includes a thickness of from about 1 nm to about 800 nm; and wherein the resistive coating includes a thickness of from about 0.5 nm to about 1 μm.

15 . A resistive coating on a capillary tube, the resistive coating comprising:

a base layer comprising SiO2, TiO2, Y2O3, Ta2O5, HfO2, Al2O3, ZrO2, AlN, ZrN, or a combination thereof, wherein the capillary tube includes an inlet end in communication with an atmospheric-pressure ion source, an outlet end in communication with a vacuum region of a mass spectrometer, and a body elongated along an axis from the inlet end to the outlet end and having an inside surface defining a tube bore, and wherein the base layer is disposed on the inside surface;

a plurality of discrete metal or metal oxide particles layers comprising Ru, W, Mo, Pt, or a combination thereof; and

a plurality of covering layers comprising SiO2, TiO2, Y2O3, Ta2O5, HfO2, Al2O3, ZrO2, AlN, ZrN, or a combination thereof,

wherein the plurality of discrete metal or metal oxide particles layers and the plurality of covering layers are alternatingly arranged to create a mixture of discrete metal particles embedded in the plurality of covering layers.

16 . The resistive coating of claim 15 , wherein one of the plurality of covering layers is a final layer, and the final layer includes a thickness greater than a diameter of the discrete metal or metal oxide particles in each of the plurality of discrete metal particles layers.

17 . The resistive coating of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of covering layers has a thickness that is less than or equal to a diameter of the discrete metal particles in each of the plurality of discrete metal or metal oxide particles layers.

18 . The resistive coating of claim 15 , wherein the base layer comprises a plurality of sublayers, and

wherein each of the plurality of covering layers comprises a plurality of sublayers.

19 . A coated capillary tube having a tunable resistance coating in an ion transfer device, comprising:

an inlet end in communication with an atmospheric-pressure ion source;

an outlet end in communication with a vacuum region of a mass spectrometer;

a body elongated along an axis from the inlet end to the outlet end;

an inside surface defining a bore having an inner diameter; and

a resistive coating on the inside surface of the capillary tube, the resistive coating comprising:

a base layer comprising SiO2, TiO2, Y2O3, Ta2O5, HfO2, Al2O3, ZrO2, AlN, ZrN, or a combination thereof;

a plurality of discrete metal particles layers, each discrete metal particles layer comprising Ru, W, Mo, Pt, or a combination thereof; and

a plurality of covering layers, each covering layer comprising SiO2, TiO2, Y2O3, Ta2O5, HfO2, Al2O3, ZrO2, AlN, ZrN, or a combination thereof,

wherein the plurality of discrete metal particles layers and the plurality of covering layers are alternatingly arranged to create a mixture of discrete metal particles embedded in the plurality of covering layers.

20 . The coated capillary tube of claim 19 , wherein the base layer comprises a plurality of sublayers, and

wherein each of the plurality of covering layers comprises a plurality of sublayers.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 7, 2023
From: CARR, ELIZABETH; CLOSSER, RICHARD G.
To: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 063253/0786 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation PCTUS2021056833 · Oct 27, 2021
Provisional Application 63107512 · Oct 30, 2020
Related Publication 20230313366A1 · Oct 5, 2023
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