Patent ID: 7803210

Claim:
A method for producing nanometer-size spherical particles, comprising: a first step for producing intermediate spherical particles, comprising: melting a starting material selected from the group consisting of a metal, an alloy, and a metal compound; atomizing the molten starting material into fine droplets; solidifying the fine droplets to form the intermediate spherical particles, the intermediate spherical particles including a polycrystalline or single-crystalline region, having a particle size of 1 to 300 μm; and a second step for producing final spherical particles, comprising: providing a swirling plasma gas flow having the central axis thereof, the central axis running through an area between an anode and a cathode of a plasma generator; and discharging the intermediate spherical particles along the axis to subject the intermediate spherical particles to a plasma atmosphere of the area to form the final spherical particles, wherein the final spherical particles include one or both of a polycrystalline region and a single-crystalline region, and have a particle size of less than 1 μm and a sphericity of −10% to +10%.