Mass spectroscope

Abstract

To improve analysis efficiency by shortening an analysis waiting time in the case of switching from gas absent analysis to gas present analysis.SOLUTION: A mass spectroscope comprises: a vacuum chamber; a cell which is disposed inside of the vacuum chamber and brings a specimen-derived ion into contact with a predetermined gas; and a mass analysis unit which performs mass analysis on the ion discharged from the cell or ion derived therefrom. The mass spectroscope comprises: a gas supply unit (20) including a three-way valve (204) which causes the predetermined gas supplied from a gas supply source to alternatively flow to a first flow passage (22) for supplying the predetermined gas to the cell or a second flow passage (23) for exhausting the predetermined gas into a vacuum atmosphere; and a control unit which controls switching of the three-way valve in such a manner that during a period when the analysis is performed in a state where the ion is not brought into contact with the predetermined gas in the cell and / or during a period when the analysis is not performed, the predetermined gas is caused to flow to the second flow passage and during a period when the analysis is performed in a state where the ion is brought into contact with the predetermined gas in the cell, the predetermined gas is caused to flow to the first flow passage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mass spectrometer, and more particularly to a mass spectrometer equipped with a cell for contacting a predetermined gas with ions derived from a sample component. [Background technology]

[0002] An ICP mass spectrometer (hereinafter referred to as "ICP-MS") using an inductively coupled plasma (hereinafter referred to as "ICP") ion source is often used for applications such as simultaneously analyzing multiple trace metals contained in a sample liquid. In a typical ICP-MS, ions derived from sample components generated in an ICP ion source are taken into a chamber maintained in a vacuum atmosphere from the atmospheric pressure through a sampling cone or the like, which is an ion intake port. The taken-in ions are accelerated by a direct current electric field and introduced into a collision cell. In addition to ions derived from the components (elements) to be observed, undesired interference ions (interfering ions) generated due to various factors are also introduced into the chamber. Interfering ions include those caused by gases such as Ar used to generate plasma in the ICP ion source, those caused by impurities contained in the sample liquid, and those caused by additives (such as nitric acid and hydrochloric acid) added to the sample liquid. The collision cell has a function of separating such interference ions from target ions (Patent Documents 1 and 2, etc.).

[0003] For example, He gas (or another type of inert gas) is supplied into the collision cell. Various ions introduced into the collision cell repeatedly come into contact with the He gas, and the kinetic energy of the ions decreases with each contact. In many cases, interference ions are polyatomic ions, and have a larger collision cross section than target ions with a similar mass. Therefore, interference ions come into contact with He gas more times than target ions, and their kinetic energy becomes smaller. Therefore, by forming a potential barrier at the exit of the collision cell that allows only ions with a kinetic energy equal to or greater than a predetermined value to pass through and blocks ions with a kinetic energy less than the predetermined value, interference ions can be separated from target ions and removed. This method of separating and removing ions is called kinetic energy discrimination (KED).

[0004] In addition to KED, there is also a method that utilizes reactions such as charge transfer to separate target ions from interference ions that have the same mass as the target ions in a collision cell. In this case, instead of an inert gas, an active reaction gas such as hydrogen or ammonia is supplied into the collision cell. A specific interference ion introduced into the collision cell comes into contact with the reaction gas and undergoes reactions such as electron transfer or proton transfer, becoming a neutral particle or changing into another ion with a different mass-to-charge ratio (m / z). The neutral particle is not captured by the high-frequency electric field formed by the ion guide arranged in the collision cell, but dissipates and is removed. In addition, the interference ions whose m / z has changed and ions derived from them are separated from the target ions in a mass separator such as a quadrupole mass filter in the subsequent stage. In this way, the interference ions can be separated from the target ions and removed.

[0005] As described above, when a reaction gas is used, the collision cell may be called a reaction cell, and when both KED and methods using a reaction gas are used, the collision cell may be called a collision reaction cell, but in this specification, all will be referred to as collision cells. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2018 / 055707 [Patent Document 2] JP 2020-91988 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Although the above-mentioned removal of interference ions in the collision cell is effective, some of the target ions may be lost due to contact with the gas, which may cause a problem of reduced measurement sensitivity of the target ions. This problem is particularly evident when the mass of the target ions is small. Therefore, in ICP-MS, when measuring atomic ions of medium to high mass or when the amount of target ions is relatively large, a gas-containing analysis is generally performed by supplying gas to the collision cell and removing interference by KED or the like, and when measuring atomic ions of low mass or when measurement sensitivity is important, a gas-free analysis is performed by not supplying gas to the collision cell and giving priority to sensitivity (see Patent Document 1).

[0008] During analysis without gas, the supply of gas to the collision cell is stopped, but simply stopping the flow of gas may cause air to leak into the piping from the joints of the piping or the seals of the valves. In ICP-MS using KED, the purity of the He gas used has a large effect on the accuracy of the analysis, so it is not desirable for air to be mixed with the He gas in the piping. Therefore, a device has been known in the past that provides a purge flow path by branching the flow path upstream of an on-off valve provided in a gas supply flow path for supplying gas to the collision cell, and during analysis without gas, closes the on-off valve provided in the gas supply flow path while opening the on-off valve provided in the purge flow path to flow He gas into the atmosphere, thereby reducing contamination of the He gas in the piping (and contamination of the inner wall of the flow path). When discharging He gas into the atmosphere through the purge flow path, the gas flow rate is made as large as possible (usually the maximum flow rate) to more reliably prevent air from leaking through the purge flow path.

[0009] In such an ICP-MS, when switching from analysis without gas to analysis with gas, in order to avoid contamination through the purge flow path, the on-off valve on the purge flow path is closed, followed by opening the on-off valve on the gas supply flow path to start supplying He gas to the collision cell. When the on-off valve is opened to start supplying gas to the collision cell, the gas pressurized in the flow path immediately before that is suddenly released into the collision cell, that is, into the vacuum chamber. This temporarily reduces the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber. A high voltage is applied to ion optical elements such as a quadrupole mass filter and an ion detector arranged in the vacuum chamber during analysis, and if the degree of vacuum decreases, there is a risk of discharge occurring due to the high voltage. In addition, if the degree of vacuum suddenly decreases, there is a risk of the ion gauge for measuring the degree of vacuum installed in the chamber being burned.

[0010] For this reason, in the above-mentioned conventional ICP-MS, when switching from a gas-free analysis or an analysis stop (analysis standby) state to a gas-present analysis, the application of high voltage to various elements is temporarily stopped and the operation of the ion gauge is stopped. When such control is performed, not only does the analysis wait time occur due to the operation stop, but it is also necessary to secure an analysis wait time until the voltage value stabilizes after the application of high voltage is resumed, which results in a problem that the time required for analysis is extended and the analysis efficiency is reduced.

[0011] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one of its objects is to provide a mass spectrometer that can improve analysis efficiency by shortening the time required to switch from a gas-free analysis or non-analysis state to a gas-present analysis state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] One aspect of the mass spectrometer according to the present invention is a mass spectrometer including a vacuum chamber, a cell that is disposed inside the vacuum chamber and brings ions derived from a sample into contact with a predetermined gas, and a mass analysis unit that performs mass analysis on ions discharged from the cell or ions derived therefrom, a gas supply unit including a three-way valve that selectively flows a predetermined gas supplied from a gas supply source through a first flow path that supplies the predetermined gas to the cell and a second flow path that exhausts the predetermined gas into a vacuum atmosphere; a control unit that controls switching of the three-way valve so as to cause the predetermined gas to flow through the second flow path during a period in which analysis is performed in a state in which ions are not in contact with the predetermined gas in the cell and / or during a period in which analysis is not performed, and to cause the predetermined gas to flow through the first flow path during a period in which analysis is performed in a state in which ions are in contact with the predetermined gas in the cell; Equipped with. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the above-mentioned aspect of the mass spectrometer of the present invention, when switching from analysis without gas to analysis with gas and / or when starting analysis with gas from a non-analysis state, it is possible to prevent a large amount of gas from flowing into the cell all at once, causing a sudden drop in the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber. This makes it unnecessary to perform control such as temporarily suspending the applied voltage due to a drop in the degree of vacuum, and it is possible to reduce or almost eliminate the analysis wait time. As a result, the time required for analysis can be shortened and the analysis efficiency can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ICP-MS according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the flow path configuration of a gas supply unit in the ICP-MS of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic sequence for switching from analysis without gas to analysis with gas in the ICP-MS of this embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a flow path configuration of an example of a gas supply unit in a general ICP-MS. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic sequence for switching from analysis without gas to analysis with gas in an ICP-MS equipped with the gas supply unit shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] An ICM-MS according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the ICP-MS of this embodiment.

[0016] This ICP-MS comprises an ionization chamber 1, which is in an atmosphere of approximately atmospheric pressure, and a first vacuum chamber 2, a second vacuum chamber 3, and a third vacuum chamber 4, the degree of vacuum of which increases in this order from the ionization chamber 1 side. The first vacuum chamber 2 is evacuated to a vacuum by a rotary pump (RP) 15, and the second vacuum chamber 3 and the third vacuum chamber 4 are evacuated to a vacuum by the rotary pump 15 and a turbo molecular pump (TMP) 16.

[0017] An ICP ion source 5 is disposed inside the ionization chamber 1. The ICP ion source 5 includes a plasma torch 51 having a sample tube through which a liquid sample atomized by a nebulizing gas flows, a plasma gas tube formed around the outer periphery of the sample tube, and a cooling gas tube formed around the outer periphery of the plasma gas tube. An autosampler 52 that introduces the liquid sample into the plasma torch 51 is provided at the inlet end of the sample tube of the plasma torch 51. In addition, although not shown, a nebulizing gas supply source that supplies a nebulizing gas to the sample tube, a plasma gas supply source that supplies a plasma gas (e.g., Ar gas) to the plasma gas tube, and a cooling gas supply source that supplies a cooling gas to the cooling gas tube are connected to each other.

[0018] The first vacuum chamber 2 is formed between a sampling cone 6, which is substantially conical, and a skimmer 7, which is also substantially conical. Both the sampling cone 6 and the skimmer 7 have an ion passage port at the top. The first vacuum chamber 2 functions as an interface for sending ions supplied from the ICP ion source 5 to a subsequent stage and for discharging solvent gas and the like.

[0019] In the second vacuum chamber 3, an ion lens 8 including a pull-in electrode, a collision cell 9, and an energy barrier forming electrode 11 are arranged in this order from the skimmer 7 side, that is, from the side where ions are incident. The ion lens 8 and the energy barrier forming electrode 11 are both disk-shaped electrodes with approximately circular openings for passing ions. Inside the collision cell 9, a multipole ion guide 10 including a plurality of rod electrodes arranged parallel to the ion optical axis 14 is arranged.

[0020] In the third vacuum chamber 4 of the final stage, a quadrupole mass filter 12 including a pre-rod electrode and a main rod electrode, and an ion detector 13 are disposed. In this ICP-MS, the ion optical axis 14 is linear from the first vacuum chamber 2 to the third vacuum chamber 4, but it may be configured as an off-axis ion optical system.

[0021] The gas supply unit 20 supplies a collision gas or a reaction gas to the inside of the collision cell 9 through a gas introduction passage 22 whose outlet end is open to the inside of the collision cell 9. The collision gas is, for example, He, and the reaction gas is a reactive gas such as hydrogen or ammonia. The voltage generation unit 19 generates a voltage to be applied to each part such as the quadrupole mass filter 12 and the ion detector 13. The control unit 18 controls the operation of the voltage generation unit 19 and the gas supply unit 20. Note that in FIG. 1, the description of a data processing unit that digitizes the signal obtained by the ion detector 13 and processes the data is omitted.

[0022] The operation of the ICP-MS of this embodiment when performing an analysis in the presence of gas using a KED will be briefly described. In the case of analysis with gas, the gas supply unit 20 supplies a predetermined flow rate of He gas into the collision cell 9 through a gas introduction channel 22 under the control of the control unit 18. In addition, the voltage generation unit 19 applies predetermined voltages to each of the elements such as the ion lens 8, the ion guide 10, the energy barrier forming electrode 11, the quadrupole mass filter 12, the ion detector 13, etc.

[0023] When a liquid sample is sprayed from autosampler 52 into plasma formed in plasma torch 51 of ICP ion source 5 under the control of control unit 18, elements contained in the liquid sample are ionized. Ions derived from sample components generated in ICP ion source 5 are introduced into second vacuum chamber 3 through ion passage ports of sampling cone 6 and skimmer 7 together with undesired ions derived from plasma gas etc. These ions are focused by ion lens 8 and introduced into collision cell 9.

[0024] In the collision cell 9, the ions collide repeatedly with the He gas, and the kinetic energy of the ions is attenuated. The larger the collision cross section of the ions, the more opportunities they have to collide with the collision gas, and the greater the attenuation of their kinetic energy. Usually, the collision cross section of ions originating from the plasma gas, etc. is larger than that of ions originating from the sample components, so that the kinetic energy of unnecessary ions originating from the plasma gas, etc. is greatly reduced compared to that of ions originating from the sample components. Therefore, ions originating from the sample components easily overcome the potential barrier formed by the energy barrier forming electrode 11 on the outside of the exit of the collision cell 9, whereas unnecessary ions have difficulty in overcoming the potential barrier. This allows the unnecessary ions to be removed, and mainly the ions originating from the sample components to be sent to the third vacuum chamber 4.

[0025] Of the ions incident on the third vacuum chamber 4, those having a specific m / z value corresponding to the voltage applied to the quadrupole mass filter 12 pass through the quadrupole mass filter 12, while the other ions dissipate on the way. The ions that have passed through the quadrupole mass filter 12 in this manner reach the ion detector 13, which outputs a detection signal corresponding to the amount of incident ions.

[0026] In the case of gas-free analysis, He gas is not supplied from the gas supply unit 21 to the collision cell 9, and no potential barrier is formed by the energy barrier forming electrode 11. Therefore, most of the ions introduced into the collision cell 9 are introduced directly into the third vacuum chamber 4 and become the subject of selection according to m / z by the quadrupole mass filter 12. Therefore, in the case of gas-free analysis, although interfering ions are not removed, there is almost no loss of target ions, and it is possible to detect the target ions with high sensitivity.

[0027] Before describing the detailed flow path configuration of the gas supply unit 20 in the ICP-MS of this embodiment, the flow path configuration of a gas supply unit in a general ICP-MS and its problems will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow path configuration of a gas supply unit 20A of a general ICP-MS. This gas supply unit 20A includes a proportional valve 211, a pressure sensor 212, a resistance tube 213, and two opening and closing valves 214 and 215. The proportional valve 211 is a valve whose opening degree can be adjusted almost continuously, and the opening and closing valves 214 and 215 are simple on-off valves.

[0028] The flow rate of gas such as He supplied from a gas supply source (not shown) through gas supply flow path 21A is adjusted by proportional valve 211, and flows through resistance tube 213. Pressure sensor 212 detects the gas pressure in the pipeline after the flow rate has been adjusted. During analysis with gas, first opening and closing valve 214 provided in gas introduction flow path 22A is opened and second opening and closing valve 215 provided in purge flow path 23A is closed, and He gas is supplied to the collision cell through first opening and closing valve 214 and gas introduction flow path 22A. On the other hand, during analysis without gas, second opening and closing valve 215 is opened and first opening and closing valve 214 is closed, and He gas is released into the atmosphere through second opening and closing valve 215 and purge flow path 23A.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a schematic timing diagram showing a control sequence when switching from analysis without gas to analysis with gas in an ICP-MS equipped with the gas supply unit 20A shown in FIG. 5 is the flow rate setting value of the proportional valve 211, and during analysis without gas or during non-analysis, it is set to the maximum flow rate (15 sccm in this example) with the proportional valve 211 open to the maximum. That is, at this time, He gas at the maximum flow rate is released into the atmosphere via the second opening / closing valve 215 and the purge flow path 23A. By increasing the flow rate of He gas as much as possible in this way, it is possible to prevent air from leaking into the piping from piping joints or valve seals, and to prevent air from entering the collision cell.

[0030] When switching from an analysis without gas to an analysis with gas, the second opening / closing valve 215 is first closed, and then the first opening / closing valve 214 is opened after a short delay to switch the gas flow path. The delay period is provided to ensure that both opening / closing valves 214, 215 are not simultaneously opened. When switching the gas flow path in this way, there is a period during which the first opening / closing valve 214 and the second opening / closing valve 215 are simultaneously closed, although it is very short. During this period, the gas pressure in the piping between the resistance tube 213 and the first opening / closing valve 214 rises, and at the moment the first opening / closing valve 214 is opened, a large flow rate of He gas flows into the collision cell. This causes a sudden drop in the degree of vacuum not only inside the collision cell but also in the entire interior of the chamber.

[0031] In the vacuum chamber, a quadrupole mass filter, an ion detector, and other components are placed, and a high voltage of several kV or more is applied to these components, so that a decrease in the degree of vacuum may cause discharge. In addition, an ion gauge, which is placed to measure the degree of vacuum in the chamber, may be overloaded and burned out. For this reason, when switching from an analysis without gas to an analysis with gas, as shown in FIG. 5, the application of high voltage to the quadrupole mass filter and other components is stopped for a predetermined time, and the operation of the ion gauge is stopped (vacuum stabilization waiting time). The period during which the voltage application is stopped is appropriately determined according to the time required for the rapid increase in gas flow rate to subside and the degree of vacuum to decrease sufficiently. When the period ends, the application of high voltage to the quadrupole mass filter and other components is resumed, but it takes a certain amount of time for the voltage to stabilize after the resumption.

[0032] Furthermore, when performing an analysis in the presence of gas, the flow rate setting value of the proportional valve 211 is usually lowered to about 1 / 3 to 1 / 2 of the maximum flow rate, so it takes time for the gas flow rate after switching to settle to the setting value. When performing an analysis in the presence of gas using an ICP-MS, fluctuations in the flow rate of He gas are one of the factors that reduce the analytical accuracy. Therefore, it is necessary to consider not only the effect of a decrease in the degree of vacuum, but also the time required for the gas flow rate to stabilize. Therefore, as shown in Figure 5, a specified waiting time (waiting for voltage stabilization, etc.) is ensured from the time when voltage application is resumed until the analysis actually begins.

[0033] For these reasons, a waiting time of at least one minute is required from the time the gas flow path is switched to perform a gas-present analysis until the analysis can actually begin, which increases the time required for the analysis.

[0034] In contrast, in the ICP-MS of this embodiment, the flow path configuration centered on the gas supply unit 20 has been changed from conventional configurations, and the control sequence when switching from analysis without gas or a non-analysis state to analysis with gas has been changed. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a flow path configuration of the gas supply unit 20 in the ICP-MS of this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a timing diagram showing a control sequence when switching from analysis without gas to analysis with gas in the ICP-MS of this embodiment.

[0035] 2, the gas supply unit 20 includes a proportional valve 201, a pressure sensor 202, a resistance tube 203, and a three-way valve 204 having a common port 204a, a first port 204b, and a second port 204c. The outlet end of the purge flow path 23 connected to the second port 204c of the three-way valve 204 is not open to the atmosphere, but is connected to the intake side pipe 17 of the rotary pump 15. The intake side pipe 17 connects the intake port of the rotary pump 15 to the first vacuum chamber 2 and the exhaust port of the turbo molecular pump 16, and the inside of the pipe is maintained in a vacuum atmosphere.

[0036] The proportional valve 201, the pressure sensor 202, and the resistance tube 203 in Fig. 2 are substantially the same as the proportional valve 211, the pressure sensor 212, and the resistance tube 213 in Fig. 4. During the analysis with gas, the control unit 18 switches the flow path in the three-way valve 204 so that the common port 204a and the first port 204b communicate with each other. The He gas that has passed through the resistance tube 203 is supplied to the collision cell 9 through the three-way valve 204 and the gas introduction flow path 22. On the other hand, during the analysis without gas, the control unit 18 switches the flow path in the three-way valve 204 so that the common port 204a and the second port 204c communicate with each other. The He gas that has passed through the resistance tube 203 is discharged into the intake side pipe 17 through the three-way valve 204 and the purge flow path 23, that is, into the vacuum atmosphere.

[0037] That is, the structural features of the gas supply unit 20 that differ from the gas supply unit 20A shown in FIG. 4 are that one three-way valve 204 is provided instead of the two opening / closing valves 214, 215, and that the discharge destination of the end of the purge flow path 23 (23A), i.e., the discharge destination of the gas during analysis without gas, has been changed from the atmosphere to a vacuum atmosphere.

[0038] In the ICP-MS of this embodiment, the control unit 18 sets the flow rate setting value of the proportional valve 201 to the flow rate value for the analysis with gas to be performed subsequently, rather than the maximum flow rate, during analysis without gas or during non-analysis. For example, if the gas flow rate for the analysis with gas is set to 7 sccm, the gas flow rate for the analysis without gas is also set to 7 sccm. When the outlet end of the purge flow path 23 is in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere, it is necessary to flow gas at as high a flow rate as possible as described above in order to reliably prevent air leakage. In contrast, in this embodiment, since the outlet end of the purge flow path 23 is in a vacuum atmosphere, air leakage can be reliably prevented even if the gas flow rate is reduced.

[0039] When switching from an analysis without gas to an analysis with gas, the control unit 18 switches the flow path of the three-way valve 204 from the second port 204c side to the first port 204b side. Since the three-way valve 204 essentially switches the flow path selectively, a state in which both flow paths are closed at the same time does not occur, and the switching is smooth with almost no increase in gas pressure. In addition, since the gas flow rate setting value in the proportional valve 201 is the same before and after the switching, there is little or no change in the actual gas flow rate associated with the switching of the flow path. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, a high voltage can be continuously applied to the quadrupole mass filter 12 and the like during switching, and the operation of an ion gauge (not shown) for measuring the degree of vacuum can also be continuously performed.

[0040] Therefore, in the ICP1-MS of this embodiment, after switching from an analysis without gas or a non-analysis state to an analysis with gas, the analysis can be performed quickly and data can be collected without substantially having to wait for the analysis. As a result, even when the analysis without gas and the analysis with gas are frequently switched between, the analysis time can be shortened with almost no unnecessary analysis wait time.

[0041] In addition, the time required for analysis can be shortened, and the number of valves can be reduced, which can lead to cost reduction. Furthermore, the amount of gas used as a purge gas during gas-free analysis or non-analysis can be reduced, which also leads to a reduction in the running costs of analysis for the user.

[0042] The ICP-MS shown in Fig. 1 has a configuration in which one gas is supplied to the collision cell 9, but when interference removal using a reaction gas is also performed in addition to interference removal by KED, a gas supply unit is also required to supply one or more types of reaction gas (e.g., hydrogen, ammonia, oxygen, etc.) to be used to the collision cell 9. That is, it is preferable to provide the gas supply unit 20, gas supply flow path 21, gas introduction flow path 22, and purge flow path 23 shown in Fig. 1 for each type of gas to be used. In this configuration in which the gas supply units are provided in parallel, the cost reduction by reducing the number of valves is even more effective.

[0043] Although the above embodiment is an example of the present invention applied to an ICP-MS, the present invention can also be applied to mass spectrometers that supply a collision gas to a collision cell to cause collision-induced dissociation in the collision cell, such as a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer or a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. More generally, the present invention can be applied to mass spectrometers that supply gas into a cell, such as a collision cell, arranged in a vacuum chamber, and bring ions into contact with the gas in the cell to perform some operation on the ions.

[0044] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments and modifications are merely examples of the present invention, and it is clear that any modifications, changes, or additions made within the spirit of the present invention other than those described above will also be encompassed within the scope of the claims of the present application.

[0045] [Various aspects] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments described above are examples of the following aspects.

[0046] (Item 1) One aspect of the mass spectrometer according to the present invention is a mass spectrometer comprising: a vacuum chamber; a cell disposed inside the vacuum chamber for bringing ions derived from a sample into contact with a predetermined gas; and a mass analysis unit for performing mass analysis on ions discharged from the cell or ions derived therefrom, a gas supply unit including a three-way valve that selectively flows a predetermined gas supplied from a gas supply source through a first flow path that supplies the predetermined gas to the cell and a second flow path that exhausts the predetermined gas into a vacuum atmosphere; a control unit that controls switching of the three-way valve so as to cause the predetermined gas to flow through the second flow path during a period in which analysis is performed in a state in which ions are not in contact with the predetermined gas in the cell and / or during a period in which analysis is not performed, and to cause the predetermined gas to flow through the first flow path during a period in which analysis is performed in a state in which ions are in contact with the predetermined gas in the cell; Equipped with.

[0047] In the mass spectrometer described in paragraph 1, when performing an analysis in which ions are not brought into contact with a predetermined gas in the cell (analysis without gas), the control unit sets the state of the three-way valve to allow the predetermined gas to flow to the second flow path. As a result, the predetermined gas supplied from the gas supply source is discharged into a vacuum atmosphere via the second flow path. When switching from an analysis without gas to an analysis in which ions are brought into contact with a predetermined gas in the cell (analysis with gas), the control unit controls the operation of the three-way valve to switch the flow destination of the predetermined gas from the second flow path to the first flow path. Since the flow of the predetermined gas is not blocked during this switching, compressed gas does not accumulate in the flow path upstream of the three-way valve, and it is possible to avoid a large amount of gas flowing into the cell immediately after the flow path is switched.

[0048] In addition, since the gas that has passed through the second flow path is discharged into a vacuum atmosphere, not into the atmosphere, there is little risk of contamination by air through the second flow path, even if the flow rate of the gas flowing into the second flow path is low. Therefore, even if the flow rate of the gas flowing into the cell through the first flow path during analysis with gas is low, it is possible to match the flow rate of the gas discharged through the second flow path during analysis without gas. If the gas flow rates before and after switching the three-way valve are the same or the difference is very small, the time required for the gas flow rate to settle to the target value when switching can be almost zero or extremely short.

[0049] According to the mass spectrometer described in paragraph 1, when switching from analysis without gas to analysis with gas and / or when starting analysis with gas from a non-analysis state, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the degree of vacuum caused by a rush of gas at high pressure into the vacuum chamber. This makes it unnecessary to perform special control, such as stopping the high voltage applied to the mass separation unit, in order to avoid the adverse effects of a decrease in the degree of vacuum. As a result, it is possible to reduce or almost eliminate the waiting time until analysis is substantially possible, shortening the time required for analysis and improving analysis efficiency.

[0050] (2) In the mass spectrometer according to the first aspect, the gas supply unit includes a flow rate regulator disposed on a flow path between the gas supply source and the three-way valve; The control unit may be configured to control the flow rate adjustment unit so as to make the gas flow rate the same before and after switching the three-way valve from a state in which a specified gas flows through the second flow path to a state in which a specified gas flows through the first flow path.

[0051] According to the mass spectrometer described in paragraph 2, when switching from a gas-free or non-analysis state to a gas-present analysis state, the flow rate of the predetermined gas supplied to the cell can be quickly stabilized, so that substantial analysis, that is, collection of useful data, can be performed quickly after switching.

[0052] (Item 3) In the mass spectrometer described in item 1 or 2, the outlet end of the second flow path may be connected to an intake port side of a vacuum pump that evacuates the vacuum chamber.

[0053] According to the mass spectrometer described in the third aspect, it is possible to prevent the discharge of a specific gas during a gas-free analysis or when analysis is not being performed from affecting the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber.

[0054] (Item 4) The mass spectrometer according to any one of items 1 to 3 may include an inductively coupled plasma ion source, and the cell may be a collision cell for removing interfering ions.

[0055] According to the mass spectrometer described in paragraph 4, even when analysis without gas and analysis with gas are frequently repeated, it is possible to shorten the time required for analysis while ensuring high analytical accuracy. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1…Ionization chamber 2…First vacuum chamber 3…Second vacuum chamber 4…Third vacuum chamber 5…ICP ion source 51...Plasma torch 52…Autosampler 6…Sampling cone 7. Skimmer 8…Ion lens 9…Collision cell 10…Ion Guide 11...Electrode for forming energy barrier 12...Quadrupole mass filter 13...Ion detector 14…Ion optical axis 15...Rotary pump 16...Turbo molecular pump 17…Intake side piping 18...Control section 19...Voltage generating section 20...Gas supply section 201…Proportional valve 202...Pressure sensor 203…Resistance tube 204…Three-way valve 204a…Common port 204b…1st port 204c…Second port 21...Gas supply passage 22...Gas introduction channel 23…Purge passage

Claims

1. A mass spectrometer comprising: a vacuum chamber; a cell disposed inside the vacuum chamber for contacting ions derived from a sample with a predetermined gas; and a mass spectrometry unit for performing mass spectrometry on ions discharged from the cell or ions derived therefrom, a gas supply unit including a three-way valve that selectively flows a predetermined gas supplied from a gas supply source through a first flow path that supplies the predetermined gas to the cell and a second flow path that exhausts the predetermined gas into a vacuum atmosphere; a control unit that controls switching of the three-way valve so as to cause the specified gas to flow through the second flow path during a period in which analysis is performed in a state in which ions are not in contact with the specified gas in the cell and / or during a period in which analysis is not performed, and to cause the specified gas to flow through the first flow path during a period in which analysis is performed in a state in which ions are in contact with the specified gas in the cell;

2. the gas supply unit includes a flow rate regulator disposed on a flow path between the gas supply source and the three-way valve; 2. The mass spectrometer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the flow rate adjustment unit so that the gas flow rate is the same before and after the three-way valve switches from a state in which a predetermined gas flows through the second flow path to a state in which a predetermined gas flows through the first flow path.

3. 2. The mass spectrometer according to claim 1, wherein an outlet end of the second flow path is connected to an intake port side of a vacuum pump that evacuates the vacuum chamber.

4. 10. The mass spectrometer of claim 1, comprising an inductively coupled plasma ion source, the cell being a collision cell for removing interfering ions.

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