Ion transport interface device

Abstract

The present invention discloses an ion transmission interface device, including: a shell, a separation cone, an ion channel, a conductive plate and an insulating plate; the shell is used to provide a vacuum cavity environment for the transmission of charged ions; the separation cone is used to guide the charged ions into the ion channel; the conductive plate is installed on the insulating plate; the ion transmission hole of the conductive plate and the ion transmission hole of the insulating plate are on the same horizontal line, and the direction of the separation cone is toward the ion transmission hole; the potential difference between the conductive plate and the separation cone gradually decreases along the direction from the conductive plate to the separation cone, and the charged ions pass through the ion transmission hole in turn according to the gradient of the potential difference, and enter the ion channel. The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the ion transmission efficiency of the charged ions from the ion source to the ion channel while preventing uncharged particles and other impurities from entering the ion transmission hole, thereby improving the sensitivity of the mass spectrometer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of mass spectrometry equipment, and in particular to an ion transmission interface device. Background Art

[0002] The atmospheric pressure ion sources used in existing triple quadrupole mass spectrometers are generally electrospray ionization sources ESI and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization sources APC I. The ion transmission loss rate of charged ions from the ion source to the interface device and then to the vacuum ion channel has a great influence on the sensitivity of the mass spectrometer.

[0003] In order to prevent uncharged particles and other impurities from entering the interface device, traditional ion transmission usually sends charged ions directly into the interface device in a vertical manner during ion source ejection. However, this method has low ion transmission efficiency and some charged ions may not enter the interface device, resulting in a decrease in the sensitivity of the mass spectrometer.

[0004] However, due to the low ion transmission efficiency, the ion source has to continuously eject more charged ions in order to deliver enough charged ions into the interface device, thereby extending the working time of the equipment. Summary of the invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the ion transmission efficiency of charged ions from the ion source to the ion channel while preventing uncharged particles and other impurities from entering the ion transmission hole, thereby improving the sensitivity of the mass spectrometer.

[0006] In order to solve the technical problem, an ion transmission interface device includes: a shell, a separation cone, an ion channel, a conductive plate and an insulating plate; the shell is used to provide a vacuum cavity environment for the transmission of charged ions; the separation cone is used to guide the charged ions into the ion channel; the ion channel is connected to the separation cone; the conductive plate is installed on the insulating plate; the middle of the conductive plate and the insulating plate are both provided with ion transmission holes for transmitting charged ions, the ion transmission holes of the conductive plate and the ion transmission holes of the insulating plate are on the same horizontal line, and the direction of the separation cone is toward the ion transmission hole; there is a potential difference between the conductive plate and the separation cone, and the potential difference gradually decreases from the conductive plate to the separation cone, and the charged ions pass through the ion transmission holes in turn according to the gradient of the potential difference and enter the ion channel.

[0007] The ion transmission interface device, because the electric field around the conductive plate attracts the charged ions, the charged ions enter from the ion transmission holes of the conductive plate and the insulating plate, and the electric field has no force on the uncharged particles and other impurities doped in the charged ions outside the conductive plate, so the uncharged particles and other impurities cannot enter the ion transmission hole. When the charged ions enter the ion transmission hole, due to the gradual decrease of the potential difference in the direction from the conductive plate to the separation cone, the charged ions pass through the conductive plate, the insulating plate, the separation cone in turn through the ion transmission hole, and enter the ion channel. The force of the electric field around the conductive plate on the charged ions can make more charged ions enter the ion transmission hole, thereby ensuring the ion transmission efficiency of the charged ions.

[0008] The insulating plate includes a first insulating plate and a second insulating plate, the first conductive plate is installed on the first insulating plate, the second conductive plate is installed on the second insulating plate, the first insulating plate insulates the first conductive plate from the second conductive plate, the ion transmission holes include a first ion transmission hole and a second ion transmission hole, the ion transmission holes on the first conductive plate and the first insulating plate are both first ion transmission holes, and the ion transmission holes on the second conductive plate and the second insulating plate are both second ion transmission holes.

[0009] The ion transmission hole also includes a third ion transmission hole, and the third ion transmission hole is arranged on the separation cone. The separation cone guides the charged ions into the ion channel through the third ion transmission hole. The first ion transmission hole, the second ion transmission hole, the third ion transmission hole and the ion channel are all on the same horizontal line.

[0010] The charged ions outside the ion transmission interface device are subjected to the force of the electric field in the first conductive plate, so the charged ions enter the ion transmission interface device from the first ion transmission hole, while the uncharged particles and other impurities are repelled outside the ion transmission interface device due to the lack of the force of the electric field. Since the first ion transmission hole, the second ion transmission hole, the third ion transmission hole and the ion channel are all on the same horizontal line, the charged ions are transmitted from the first ion transmission hole to the second ion transmission hole along the gradient of the potential difference, and then from the second ion transmission hole to the third ion transmission hole, and then transmitted to the ion channel through the third ion transmission hole.

[0011] The first insulating plate insulates and separates the first conductive plate from the second conductive plate, thereby preventing the first conductive plate from contacting the second conductive plate and affecting the transmission effect of charged ions in the ion transmission hole.

[0012] Furthermore, it includes a back-blowing gas connector for blowing out back-blowing gas and taking away uncharged particles and other impurities. The back-blowing gas connector is installed on the first insulating plate. The blowing direction of the back-blowing gas connector is toward the first ion transmission hole. A gap is provided between the first conductive plate and the first insulating plate for blowing the back-blowing gas toward the first ion transmission hole.

[0013] The back-blowing gas blown out from the back-blowing gas connector is in the gap, and the back-blowing gas is ejected from the first ion transmission hole. While ejecting, the uncharged particles and other impurities doped in the charged ions that are about to enter the first ion transmission hole are blown away. The charged ions are affected by the attraction of the electric field, and the injection force of the back-blowing gas is smaller than the attraction of the electric field, so the charged ions will not be blown away by the back-blowing gas. The back-blowing gas ejected from the first ion transmission hole can further prevent the uncharged particles and other impurities from entering the first ion transmission hole, thereby making the ion transmission efficiency higher and the sensitivity of the mass spectrometer better.

[0014] Furthermore, it also includes a ceramic heating ring and a clamping ring. The ceramic heating ring is in contact with the second conductive plate, and the ceramic heating ring is clamped to the second conductive plate via the clamping ring. The ceramic heating ring is provided with a heating contact for heating the ceramic heating ring and a sensing contact for detecting the temperature of the ceramic heating ring. The heating contact protrudes outward relative to the ceramic heating ring, and the sensing contact protrudes outward relative to the ceramic heating ring.

[0015] The setting of the ceramic heating ring can heat the second conductive plate, so that the second conductive plate is heated to a temperature that can vaporize the droplets, preventing the charged ions from adhering to the second conductive plate during the transmission of the ion transmission hole, and further improving the transmission efficiency of the charged ions; the clamping ring can clamp and fix the ceramic heating ring; the outwardly protruding heating contacts and sensing contacts can avoid poor contact of the conductive ejector pin when heating and sensing the temperature.

[0016] The conductive ejector pin heats the ceramic heating ring through the heating contact. When the induction contact senses that the ceramic heating ring is heated to a certain temperature, the conductive ejector pin stops heating or switches to a heat preservation state to maintain the ceramic heating ring within an appropriate temperature range.

[0017] An elastic member for supporting the conductive ejector pin on the second conductive plate is installed on the second insulating plate. The elastic member includes a spring and a metal seat. One end of the elastic member is supported on the conductive ejector pin, and the other end of the elastic member is supported on the metal seat. The conductive ejector pin on the second conductive rod has a partial area sleeved on the spring.

[0018] The elastic member is in a compressed state to squeeze the conductive ejector pin so that the conductive ejector pin is tightly attached to the heating contact and the sensing contact, thereby further avoiding poor contact between the conductive ejector pin and the ceramic heating ring.

[0019] It should be noted that:

[0020] 1. The aforementioned “first, second…” does not represent a specific quantity or order, but is only used to distinguish the names.

[0021] 2. In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper" and "lower" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the equipment or components referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a reference to the present invention.

[0022] Limitations of the Invention

[0023] 3. The aforementioned “ceramic heating ring” is made of ceramic material, and the “metal seat” is made of metal copper or copper alloy material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 is a physical structure diagram of an ion transmission interface device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 is an exploded view of an ion transmission interface device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of an ion transmission interface device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A magnified view of the local structure in

[0028] Figure 5 yes Figure 3 A magnified view of the local structure in

[0029] Figure 6 is a physical structure diagram of a first conductive plate installed on a first insulating plate according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 Exploded view in ;

[0031] Figure 8 is an exploded view of a second conductive plate installed on a second insulating plate according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Fig. 9 is a front view of a ceramic heating ring according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Description of reference numerals:

[0034] 110. Shell, 120. Separation cone, 130. Ion channel, 131. Charged ions, 140. Conductive plate, 141. First conductive plate, 142. Second conductive plate, 150. Insulating plate, 151. First insulating plate, 152. Second insulating plate, 160. Ion transmission hole, 161. First ion transmission hole, 162. Second ion transmission hole, 163. Third ion transmission hole, 170. Back-blowing gas connector, 171. Gap, 180. Ceramic heating ring, 181. Heating contact, 182. Inductive contact, 190. Snap ring, 210. Conductive ejector pin, 220. Elastic member, 221. Spring, 222. Metal seat, 230. Vacuum pump interface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.

[0036] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the ion transmission interface device of this embodiment includes a shell, a separation cone, and an ion channel 130. The shell provides a vacuum cavity environment for the transmission of charged ions within the entire ion transmission interface device. The insulating plate 150 serves as a mounting base for the conductive plate 140, and is used to fix the conductive plate 140 to ensure that the charged ions are stably transmitted in the ion transmission hole 160 and the separation cone. The electric field of the conductive plate 140 attracts the charged ions and transmits the charged ions from the ion transmission hole 160 to the ion channel 130 along the gradient of the potential difference.

[0037] See next Figure 3 In this embodiment, the potential difference gradually decreases from the first conductive plate 141 to the second conductive plate 142 and then to the separation cone, and the potential of the separation cone is infinitely close to 0. The charged ions pass through the first conductive plate 141, the first insulating plate 151, the second conductive plate 142, the second insulating plate 152 and the ion transmission hole 160 of the separation cone in sequence according to the gradient of the potential difference, and the separation cone guides the charged ions to continue to transmit until the charged ions enter the ion channel 130.

[0038] Please continue reading Figure 3 In the process of generating charged ions, the charged ions are also doped with some uncharged particles and other impurities. In order to prevent the uncharged particles and other impurities from entering the ion transmission interface device through the first ion transmission hole 161, the back-blowing gas blown out by the back-blowing gas connector 170 is in the gap 171 between the first conductive plate 141 and the first insulating plate 151, and the back-blowing gas in the gap 171 is blown out through the first ion transmission hole 161, so as to blow away the uncharged particles and other impurities near the outside of the first ion transmission hole 161. In this embodiment, the back-blowing gas blown out by the back-blowing gas connector 170 is high-purity nitrogen.

[0039] In this embodiment, the conductive pins 210 of the first conductive plate 141 and the conductive pins 210 of the second conductive plate 142 are electrically connected to two different and independent power supplies (not shown in the figure), that is, one independent power supply outputs electric energy to the conductive pins 210 located on the first conductive plate 141, and the other independent power supply outputs electric energy to the conductive pins 210 located on the second conductive plate 142. The electric potential of the conductive pins 210 of the first conductive plate 141 is lower than that of the conductive pins 210 of the second conductive plate 142.

[0040] Please participate Figures 1 to 3 In this embodiment, the vacuum pump interface 230 is installed with a vacuum pump body, and the vacuum pump body extracts air inside the shell through the vacuum pump interface 230 to make the interior of the shell reach a vacuum cavity environment, providing a stable vacuum environment guarantee for the transmission of charged ions.

[0041] See also Figure 4 , Figure 5 It can be seen that the charged ions enter from the first ion transmission hole 161, and then pass through the second ion transmission hole 162 and the third ion transmission hole 163 in sequence, and then enter the ion channel 130, wherein the diameter of the third ion transmission hole 163 of the separation cone is 2 mm, and the charged ions are guided and transmitted into the ion transmission hole 160 through the third ion transmission hole 163 with a diameter of 2 mm.

[0042] See also Figure 5 , Fig. 9 In a preferred embodiment, the embodiment of the present invention may further include an elastic member 220 and a ceramic heating ring 180. Figure 5 The metal seat 222 of the elastic member 220 in the embodiment of the present invention supports the spring 221, and the spring 221 of the elastic member 220 supports the conductive ejector pin 210, so that the conductive ejector pin 210 is tightly attached to the conductive ejector pin 210. Figure 5 , Fig. 9 The conductive ejector pin 210 is squeezed by the spring 221 on the heating contact 181 and the sensing contact 182 of the ceramic heating ring 180, and the conductive ejector pin 210 is tightly attached to the heating contact 181 and the sensing contact 182 in a squeezed state.

[0043] See also Figure 6 , Figure 7 , the first conductive plate 141 and the first insulating plate 151 are exploded to see that the conductive ejector pin 210 is installed on the first conductive plate 141, and the back-blowing air connector 170 is installed on the first insulating plate 151. Therefore, the electric field of the first conductive plate 141 can be caused by the power transmission of the conductive ejector pin 210 installed on the first conductive plate 141, and the back-blowing air blown out by the back-blowing air connector 170 can be in the gap 171 between the first conductive plate 141 and the first insulating plate 151.

[0044] See also Figure 8 , Fig. 9 In this embodiment, the clamping ring 190 clamps and fixes the ceramic heating ring 180. When the conductive ejector pin 210 heats the ceramic heating ring 180 for a long time and needs maintenance, the clamping ring 190 can be disassembled to take out the ceramic heating ring 180, which is easy to operate.

[0045] Please continue reading Figure 5 , Figure 8 The ceramic heating ring 180 can heat the second conductive plate 142. Figure 5 It can be seen that the third ion transmission hole 163 of the separation cone is close to the second conductive plate 142. After the second conductive plate 142 is heated to a certain temperature, it is not difficult to see that the surrounding temperature and the separation cone also have a certain temperature, so as to avoid the charged ions from adhering to the second ion transmission hole 162 of the second conductive plate 142 and the third transmission hole of the separation cone due to liquefaction during the transmission of the ion transmission hole 160, and can also improve the ion transmission efficiency of the charged ions.

[0046] The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto; any replacement and improvement made on the basis of not violating the concept of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ion transmission interface device, comprising: A housing, used to provide a vacuum cavity environment for the transmission of charged ions; The separation cone is used to allow the charged ions to pass through and separate most of the backflush gas to be pumped away by a mechanical pump; an ion channel, the ion channel docking with the separation cone; Characterized in that the ion transmission interface device further comprises a conductive plate and an insulating plate, wherein the conductive plate is mounted on the insulating plate; The conductive plate and the insulating plate are both provided with ion transmission holes for conveying charged ions in the middle, the ion transmission holes of the conductive plate and the ion transmission holes of the insulating plate are on the same horizontal line, and the separation cone is oriented toward the ion transmission holes; There is a potential difference between the conductive plate and the separation cone, and the potential difference gradually decreases from the conductive plate to the separation cone. The charged ions pass through the conductive plate, the insulating plate, the separation cone in sequence according to the gradient of the potential difference through the ion transmission hole, and enter the ion channel; The conductive plate includes a first conductive plate and a second conductive plate, and there is a potential difference between the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate, and the potential difference gradually decreases from the first conductive plate to the second conductive plate and then to the separation cone; The insulating plate includes a first insulating plate and a second insulating plate, the first conductive plate is mounted on the first insulating plate, the second conductive plate is mounted on the second insulating plate, the first insulating plate insulates the first conductive plate from the second conductive plate, the ion transmission holes include a first ion transmission hole and a second ion transmission hole, the ion transmission holes on the first conductive plate and the first insulating plate are both first ion transmission holes, and the ion transmission holes on the second conductive plate and the second insulating plate are both second ion transmission holes; The ion transmission hole also includes a third ion transmission hole, and the third ion transmission hole is arranged on the separation cone. The separation cone guides the charged ions into the ion channel through the third ion transmission hole, and the first ion transmission hole, the second ion transmission hole, the third ion transmission hole and the ion channel are all on the same horizontal line; It also includes a back-blowing gas connector for blowing out back-blowing gas and taking away uncharged particles and other impurities, the back-blowing gas connector is installed on the first insulating plate, the blowing direction of the back-blowing gas connector is toward the first ion transmission hole, and a gap is provided between the first conductive plate and the first insulating plate for blowing the back-blowing gas toward the first ion transmission hole; It also includes a ceramic heating ring and a clamping ring, wherein the ceramic heating ring contacts the second conductive plate, and the ceramic heating ring is clamped to the second conductive plate via the clamping ring, and the ceramic heating ring is provided with a heating contact for heating the ceramic heating ring and a sensing contact for detecting the temperature of the ceramic heating ring, wherein the heating contact protrudes outward relative to the ceramic heating ring, and the sensing contact protrudes outward relative to the ceramic heating ring; It also includes a plurality of conductive pins, which are respectively arranged on the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate. The number of the conductive pins on the second conductive plate is at least two. The conductive pin on the second conductive plate contacts the heating contact, and another conductive pin on the second conductive plate contacts the sensing contact.

2. The ion transmission interface device according to claim 1, characterized in that: An elastic member for supporting the conductive ejector pin on the second conductive plate is installed on the second insulating plate. The elastic member includes a spring and a metal seat. One end of the elastic member is supported on the conductive ejector pin, and the other end of the elastic member is supported on the metal seat. The conductive ejector pin on the second conductive rod has a partial area sleeved on the spring.

3. The ion transmission interface device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also included is a vacuum pump interface for mounting the vacuum pump body.

Images