Patent ID: 7578206

Claim:
A liquid droplet deposition system, comprising: a holding mechanism; one or more capillaries, held by the holding mechanism; a sample plate holder positioned beneath the plurality of capillaries; a liquid source in fluid communication with at least one of the capillaries, which liquid source is configured to cause a liquid to flow through and form a droplet at an end of the capillary; and a power supply that includes a voltage source and is configured to generate an electric field between the droplet and a sample plate by either: i) applying: a) a charge to the sample plate when said sample plate is placed on the sample plate holder, and b) a ground connection to the droplet after said droplet forms at the end of the capillary; or ii) applying: a) a ground connection to the sample plate when said sample plate is placed on the sample plate holder, and b) a charge to the droplet after said droplet forms at the end of the capillary, wherein the charge is applied to the droplet by a direct electrical connection to the liquid or the capillary, wherein when the electric field is generated, the droplet is pulled to the sample plate along the electric field.