초록 ▼

The invention provides methods and apparatus for sterilizing articles. According to one exemplary method, at least one article is placed into a chamber and a vacuum is applied to the chamber. After the pressure within the chamber is sufficiently reduced, water vapor is introduced into the chamber an

The invention provides methods and apparatus for sterilizing articles. According to one exemplary method, at least one article is placed into a chamber and a vacuum is applied to the chamber. After the pressure within the chamber is sufficiently reduced, water vapor is introduced into the chamber and electromagnetic radiation energy is applied to produce a plasma. In one particularly preferable aspect, the chamber is allowed to reach a static condition before the water vapor is introduced. In this way, the water vapor is able to equally distribute itself throughout the volume of the chamber so that an equally distributed plasma can be produced upon application of the electromagnetic radiation energy.

대표청구항 ▼

A method for sterilizing articles, comprising: placing at least one article into a chamber; applying a vacuum to the chamber; ceasing application of the vacuum and allowing a static condition to develop within the chamber where the pressure throughout the chamber is essentially equal and constant; a

A method for sterilizing articles, comprising: placing at least one article into a chamber; applying a vacuum to the chamber; ceasing application of the vacuum and allowing a static condition to develop within the chamber where the pressure throughout the chamber is essentially equal and constant; after the static condition has developed, introducing an amount of water vapor into the chamber and allowing the water vapor to uniformly distribute within the chamber; and applying electromagnetic radiation energy to the chamber after the water vapor has become uniformly distributed within the chamber to produce a substantially uniformly distributed plasma within the chamber.