Time of flight mass analyzer having improved detector arrangement and method of operating same

Abstract

A time-of-flight mass analyzer having an improved ion detector arrangement is disclosed. The analyzer includes an ionizer that generates the ions that are to be analyzed. A flight tube accepts the ions provided from the ionizer and constrains the ions to a generally helical ion flight path using a generally static electric field. An ion detector is disposed in the flight tube to intercept ions as the ions travel along the substantially helical ion flight path. At least one timer is provided to determine the flight times of the ions along an ion path that comprises at least the generally helical ion path. The timer is responsive to the impingement of ions on the ion detector.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10 / 692,301, filed Oct. 23, 2003, and entitled “TIME OF FLIGHT MASS ANALYZER HAVING IMPROVED MASS RESOLUTION AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME”.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention is generally directed to mass analyzers. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a time-of-flight mass analyzer having an improved detector arrangement. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The characteristics of mass spectrometry have raised it to an outstanding position among the various analysis methods. It has excellent sensitivity and detection limits and may be used in a wide variety of applications, e.g. atomic physics, reaction physics, reaction kinetics, geochronology, biomedicine, ion-molecule reactions, and determination of thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°f, Ka, etc.). Mass spectrometry technology has thus begun to progress very rapidly as its uses have become mo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This design enhances mass resolution and sensitivity while reducing the physical dimensions of the instrument, allowing for more accurate measurement of closely related species and enabling the design of higher-quality instruments in a smaller package.

Problems solved by technology

Although time-of-flight instruments are usually large and expensive due to the nature of the technique, the analysis times are typically short because there is no need to scan through an m / z range to get results.

Because the flight time of the ions along the flight path is short, especially with reasonably sized instruments, compounds of similar m / z are difficult to distinguish and, as such, relatively low resolutions on the order of only several hundreds are typical of these instruments.

Thus, development trends with respect to time-of-flight mass spectrometers have gone in the direction of large, increasingly complex designs requiring highly specialized components and tight manufacturing tolerances.

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