A migration tube and ion transmission method of an electrostatic field non-destructive ion manipulation structure

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of electrostatic field lossless ion manipulation structure's migration pipe and ion transmission method, belong to analytical detection technical field, the migration pipe includes multiple sets of annular reflection electrode, multiple sets of flat plate reflection electrode, multiple sets of ion straight line transmission electrode array, multiple sets of ion turning electrode array, multiple pieces of cylinder electrode, multiple pieces of mesh cylinder electrode, multiple pieces of rectangular flat plate electrode and multiple pieces of rectangular metal mesh electrode;Single set of annular reflection electrode includes a piece of cylinder electrode and a piece of mesh cylinder electrode;Single set of flat plate reflection electrode includes a piece of rectangular flat plate electrode and a piece of rectangular metal mesh electrode;Single set of ion straight line transmission electrode array is formed by multiple sets of annular reflection electrode;Single set of ion turning electrode array is formed by two sets of flat plate reflection electrode.The application can realize super-long ion migration path under electrostatic field, and there is important application value to the on-line separation detection of complex sample, even the identification of isomer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of analytical detection technology, specifically relating to a migration tube with an electrostatic field non-destructive ion manipulation structure and an ion transport method. Background Technology

[0002] Non-destructive ion manipulation structures (SLIM) are an ion migration technique whose core feature is the creation of ultra-long ion migration paths through serpentine or helical electrode arrays, enhancing ion separation capabilities within a limited space. SLIM can be coupled with techniques such as mass spectrometry, mobility spectrometry, and chromatography to achieve the separation and detection of complex samples, and even the identification of isomers, making it of significant application value in life sciences, environmental monitoring, and other fields.

[0003] SLIM technology originated at Purdue University in the United States. Internationally accepted SLIM technology faces patent barriers, limiting its use in China. Furthermore, current SLIM electrode arrays employ a segmented design with superimposed radio frequency (RF) and DC electric fields. The RF field creates radial constraint forces to prevent collision losses with the tube wall, while the gradient DC electric field applied along the migration path drives ion migration. This necessitates a complex DC-RF coupling field. To address these issues, this invention proposes a novel lossless ion manipulation structure that achieves ultra-long ion migration paths solely through an electrostatic field, avoiding the complex DC-RF coupling field of internationally accepted SLIM technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a migration tube with an electrostatically non-destructive ion manipulation structure and an ion transport method. The migration tube includes multiple sets of annular reflective electrodes, multiple sets of planar reflective electrodes, multiple arrays of linear ion transport electrodes, multiple arrays of ion turning electrodes, multiple cylindrical electrodes, multiple mesh electrodes, multiple rectangular planar electrodes, and multiple rectangular metal mesh electrodes. Each set of annular reflective electrodes includes one cylindrical electrode and one mesh electrode; each set of planar reflective electrodes includes one rectangular planar electrode and one rectangular metal mesh electrode; each array of linear ion transport electrodes consists of multiple sets of annular reflective electrodes; and each array of ion turning electrodes consists of two sets of planar reflective electrodes. This invention enables ultra-long ion migration paths under an electrostatic field, and has significant application value for the online separation and detection of complex samples, and even the identification of isomers.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] A migration tube with an electrostatic field-based lossless ion manipulation structure includes:

[0007] m groups of linear ion transport electrode arrays and m-1 groups of ion turning electrode arrays, where m is a positive integer;

[0008] Each ion linear transport electrode array consists of n coaxial and equally spaced circular reflective electrodes, where n is a positive integer.

[0009] Each set of annular reflective electrodes includes a cylindrical electrode and a mesh electrode. The cylindrical electrode and the mesh electrode are coaxially arranged. The inner diameter of the cylindrical electrode is larger than the outer diameter of the mesh electrode, and the two have the same thickness.

[0010] Each ion-turning electrode array consists of two sets of vertically arranged planar reflective electrodes.

[0011] Each set of plate-shaped reflective electrodes includes a rectangular plate electrode and a rectangular metal mesh electrode, wherein the rectangular plate electrode and the rectangular metal mesh electrode are arranged parallel to each other and have the same side length.

[0012] The central axes of each ion linear transport electrode array are located in the same plane, and the central axis of each ion linear transport electrode array is perpendicular to a set of opposite plate-shaped reflective electrodes in its adjacent ion turning electrode array.

[0013] The circular region obtained by projecting each ion linear transport electrode array along its central axis onto the adjacent ion turning electrode array is located inside the corresponding rectangular plate electrode.

[0014] The side length of the rectangular flat plate electrode is not less than the outer diameter of the cylindrical electrode.

[0015] The present invention also provides an ion transport method for a migration tube of the above-described electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure, comprising the following steps:

[0016] m sets of linear ion transport electrode arrays and m-1 sets of ion turning electrode arrays are sequentially arranged along the ion migration path, wherein an ion turning electrode array is provided between every two adjacent sets of linear ion transport electrode arrays.

[0017] In each ion linear transport electrode array, a decreasing DC voltage is applied sequentially to the mesh electrode of each annular reflective electrode along the ion migration direction, and the voltage difference between adjacent mesh electrodes is ΔU2.

[0018] In each annular reflective electrode, a voltage ΔU1 higher than that of its mesh electrode is applied to its cylindrical electrode, so that a radial electrostatic field is formed between the cylindrical electrode and the mesh electrode.

[0019] In each ion turning electrode array, a voltage is applied to its two sets of mutually perpendicular plate-shaped reflective electrodes. The voltage applied to the rectangular metal mesh electrode of each set of plate-shaped reflective electrodes is the same as the voltage of its upstream adjacent mesh electrode. The voltage applied to the rectangular plate electrode is ΔU3 higher than that of the corresponding rectangular metal mesh electrode.

[0020] In each ion turning electrode array, two rectangular plate electrodes are subjected to the same voltage, and two rectangular metal mesh electrodes are subjected to the same voltage, so that the ions complete a 90-degree directional change in the turning electrode array and then enter the next ion linear transport electrode array.

[0021] Beneficial effects:

[0022] This invention achieves lossless linear ion transport and turning under an electrostatic field by designing novel ion linear transport electrode arrays and ion turning electrode arrays. By combining the two arrays, an ultra-long ion migration path can be achieved in a limited space. This achieves the same function as the internationally used SLIM technology while avoiding the complex DC-RF coupling field of SLIM technology. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a migration tube for an electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure according to the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the energizing of the migration tube in this invention;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a simulation diagram of ion trajectories within the migration tube in this invention.

[0026] The attached figures are labeled as follows: 1-circular reflective electrode, 2-plate reflective electrode, 3-ion linear transport electrode array, 4-ion turning electrode array, 5-cylindrical electrode, 6-mesh electrode, 7-rectangular plate electrode, 8-rectangular metal mesh electrode. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of this invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, the migration tube of the electrostatic field non-destructive ion manipulation structure of the present invention includes m sets of ion linear transmission electrode arrays 3 and m-1 sets of ion turning electrode arrays 4.

[0029] The single-group ion linear transport electrode array 3 is composed of n groups of annular reflective electrodes 1, which are coaxially distributed and have a consistent spacing.

[0030] The single-group ion turning electrode array 4 consists of two groups of flat plate reflective electrodes 2, which are placed vertically.

[0031] The single-group annular reflective electrode 1 includes a cylindrical electrode 5 and a mesh electrode 6. The inner diameter of the cylindrical electrode 5 is larger than the outer diameter of the mesh electrode 6. The cylindrical electrode 5 and the mesh electrode 6 have the same thickness and are coaxially distributed.

[0032] The single-group flat reflective electrode 2 includes a rectangular flat electrode 7 and a rectangular metal mesh electrode 8. The rectangular flat electrode 7 and the rectangular metal mesh electrode 8 have the same side length and are placed in parallel.

[0033] The side length of the rectangular plate electrode 7 is not less than the outer diameter of the cylindrical electrode 5; the central axis of the ion linear transport electrode array 3 is perpendicular to a set of opposite plate-shaped reflective electrodes 2 in the adjacent ion turning electrode array 4; the circular area of ​​the ion linear transport electrode array 3 projected onto the adjacent ion turning electrode array 4 along the central axis is inside the rectangular plate electrode 7; the central axes of the multiple sets of ion linear transport electrode arrays 3 are in the same plane.

[0034] Preferably, the inner diameter of the mesh electrode 6 is in the range of 0.2mm to 50mm.

[0035] like Figure 1 The diagram shows a migration tube composed of five sets of ion linear transport electrode arrays and four sets of ion turning electrode arrays.

[0036] This invention also provides an ion transport method for a migration tube with an electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure, comprising:

[0037] (1) Voltage application method:

[0038] First group of annular reflective electrodes 1 ( Figure 1 A DC voltage U1 is applied to the mesh electrode 6 in the first group on the left. The voltage difference between the cylindrical electrode 5 and the mesh electrode 6 in the single-group annular reflective electrode 1 is ΔU1. For the ion linear transport electrode array 3, the voltage difference between adjacent mesh electrodes 6 is ΔU2 (the voltage of the mesh electrode upstream of the trajectory minus the voltage of the mesh electrode downstream of the trajectory). Figure 1 The ions are introduced from the first set of circular reflective electrodes on the left and extracted from the last set of circular reflective electrodes on the right. The ions are denoted as upstream and downstream of the trajectory from left to right along the ion trajectory.

[0039] For a single set of flat reflective electrodes 2, the voltage of the rectangular metal mesh electrode 8 is the same as the voltage of the upstream adjacent mesh electrode 6, and the voltage difference between the rectangular flat electrode 7 and the rectangular metal mesh electrode 8 is ΔU3 (the voltage of the rectangular flat electrode minus the voltage of the rectangular metal mesh electrode); for the ion turning electrode array 4, the voltages of the two rectangular flat electrodes 7 are the same, and the voltages of the two rectangular metal mesh electrodes 8 are the same.

[0040] (2) Voltage application conditions:

[0041] When the migration tube of the electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure transports positive ions, ΔU1 > 0, ΔU2 > 0, ΔU3 > 0; when transporting negative ions, ΔU1 < 0, ΔU2 < 0, ΔU3 < 0.

[0042] (3) Non-destructive ion transport methods:

[0043] The voltage difference ΔU2 on adjacent mesh electrodes 6 provides kinetic energy, driving ions downstream. The voltage difference ΔU1 between the cylindrical electrode 5 and the mesh electrode 6 in the single-group annular reflective electrode 1 provides a radial reverse electric field, preventing ions from diffusing and being lost to the inner wall of the cylindrical electrode 5 in the ion linear transport electrode array 3. The voltage difference ΔU3 between the rectangular plate electrode 7 and the rectangular metal mesh electrode 8 provides a reverse electric field perpendicular to the plate electrode 7, preventing ion loss in the ion turning electrode array 4. Through the combination of multiple sets of ion linear transport electrode arrays 3 and ion turning electrode arrays 4, ions can turn multiple times within a limited space, thereby achieving an ultra-long ion migration path.

[0044] To obtain better linear ion transport efficiency, the inner diameter of the mesh electrode 6 ranges from 0.2 mm to 50 mm, which can be adjusted according to different incident ion beam diameters.

[0045] To obtain better ion separation capability, the ion migration path can be extended by adjusting the number m of the ion linear transport electrode array 3 and the number n of the annular reflective electrodes 1 in a single set of ion linear transport electrode array 3, where m and n are both positive integers.

[0046] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the electrodes being energized. Starting from the first group of electrodes on the left, the annular reflective electrodes are labeled as circle 1, circle 2, ..., circle a, where a is a positive integer, moving downstream along the ion trajectory. The voltages of the cylindrical electrode and the mesh electrode in circle 1 of the first group of annular reflective electrodes are denoted as U. 圆1-1 U 圆1-2 Similarly, the voltages of the cylindrical electrode and the mesh electrode in the a-th circle of the a-th group of annular reflective electrodes are denoted as U. 圆a-1 U 圆a-2 Given U 圆1-2 =U1,U 圆1-1 =U1+ΔU1, then:

[0047] U 圆a-2 =U1-(a-1)×ΔU2;

[0048] U 圆a-1 =U 圆a-2 +ΔU1;

[0049] The voltage of the rectangular metal mesh electrode in the flat reflective electrode is consistent with the voltage of its upstream adjacent mesh cylinder electrode. Figure 2Taking the first group of ion-turning electrode arrays as an example:

[0050] U 板1-2 =U 板2-2 =U 圆3-2 ;

[0051] U 板1-1 =U 板2-1 =U 板1-2 +ΔU3;

[0052] Figure 3 Simulation results of ion trajectories in a migration tube of an electrostatically destructive ion manipulation structure are presented. Figure 3 The black line represents the simulated trajectory of the ion at m / z 100. The simulation results show that after being introduced by the first set of annular reflective electrodes on the left, the ion, under the combined action of five sets of ion linear transport electrode arrays and four sets of ion turning electrode arrays, undergoes four turns before exiting from the rightmost annular reflective electrode. Compared to traditional linear transport, the ion migration length is significantly increased, and there is no ion loss during transport. The above theoretical simulation results demonstrate that the migration tube of the electrostatic field-based lossless ion manipulation structure of this invention can achieve lossless linear transport and turning of ions under an electrostatic field alone, greatly extending the ion migration path within a limited space.

[0053] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A migration tube with an electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure, characterized in that, include: m groups of linear ion transport electrode arrays and m-1 groups of ion turning electrode arrays, where m is a positive integer; Each ion linear transport electrode array consists of n coaxial and equally spaced circular reflective electrodes, where n is a positive integer. Each set of annular reflective electrodes includes a cylindrical electrode and a mesh electrode. The cylindrical electrode and the mesh electrode are coaxially arranged. The inner diameter of the cylindrical electrode is larger than the outer diameter of the mesh electrode, and the two have the same thickness. Each ion-turning electrode array consists of two sets of vertically arranged planar reflective electrodes. Each set of plate-shaped reflective electrodes includes a rectangular plate electrode and a rectangular metal mesh electrode, wherein the rectangular plate electrode and the rectangular metal mesh electrode are arranged parallel to each other and have the same side length. The central axes of each ion linear transport electrode array are located in the same plane, and the central axis of each ion linear transport electrode array is perpendicular to a set of opposite plate-shaped reflective electrodes in its adjacent ion turning electrode array. The circular region obtained by projecting each ion linear transport electrode array along its central axis onto the adjacent ion turning electrode array is located inside the corresponding rectangular plate electrode. The side length of the rectangular flat plate electrode is not less than the outer diameter of the cylindrical electrode.

2. The migration tube of the electrostatic field non-destructive ion manipulation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner diameter of the mesh electrode is 0.2 mm to 50 mm.

3. The migration tube of the electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number m of the ion linear transport electrode arrays is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

4. The migration tube of the electrostatic field non-destructive ion manipulation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number n of annular reflective electrodes contained in a single ion linear transport electrode array is a positive integer.

5. The migration tube of the electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The two sets of flat reflective electrodes constituting a single ion turning electrode array are arranged perpendicularly to each other, so that the ions can change direction by 90 degrees in the turning electrode array.

6. The migration tube of the electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cylindrical electrode, mesh electrode, rectangular flat plate electrode, and rectangular metal mesh electrode are all independently conductive components to which a DC voltage can be applied.

7. An ion transport method for a migration tube of an electrostatic field-based non-destructive ion manipulation structure as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: m sets of linear ion transport electrode arrays and m-1 sets of ion turning electrode arrays are sequentially arranged along the ion migration path, wherein an ion turning electrode array is provided between every two adjacent sets of linear ion transport electrode arrays. In each ion linear transport electrode array, a decreasing DC voltage is applied sequentially to the mesh electrode of each annular reflective electrode along the ion migration direction, and the voltage difference between adjacent mesh electrodes is ΔU2. In each annular reflective electrode, a voltage ΔU1 higher than that of its mesh electrode is applied to its cylindrical electrode, so that a radial electrostatic field is formed between the cylindrical electrode and the mesh electrode. In each ion turning electrode array, a voltage is applied to its two sets of mutually perpendicular plate-shaped reflective electrodes. The voltage applied to the rectangular metal mesh electrode of each set of plate-shaped reflective electrodes is the same as the voltage of its upstream adjacent mesh electrode. The voltage applied to the rectangular plate electrode is ΔU3 higher than that of the corresponding rectangular metal mesh electrode. In each ion turning electrode array, two rectangular plate electrodes are subjected to the same voltage, and two rectangular metal mesh electrodes are subjected to the same voltage, so that the ions complete a 90-degree directional change in the turning electrode array and then enter the next ion linear transport electrode array.

8. The ion transport method according to claim 7, characterized in that, When positive ions are transported, ΔU1, ΔU2, and ΔU3 are all positive values; when negative ions are transported, ΔU1, ΔU2, and ΔU3 are all negative values.

9. The ion transport method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In each annular reflective electrode, the radial electrostatic field formed between the cylindrical electrode and the mesh electrode is used to confine ions to the inner region of the mesh electrode during axial migration.

10. The ion transport method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In each ion turning electrode array, two sets of mutually perpendicular plate-shaped reflective electrodes form an electrostatic field perpendicular to their respective planes between their rectangular plate electrodes and rectangular metal mesh electrodes, so as to guide the ions to complete a 90-degree directional change and limit their lateral diffusion in the turning region.

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