A multi-channel ion router for inducing ions between selectively operating ports.

Abstract

Solves the problems of conventional technology. [Solution] The ion router includes a pair of opposing surfaces, at least three ports, each defining an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, and a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces. At least one port is configured as an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, and at least two ports are configured to selectively operate as either outlet ports through which ions exit the ion router, or closed ports through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router. The plurality of ion channels converge toward a common location within the ion router and are configured to receive a voltage to guide ions from the ports configured as inlet ports to the ports that selectively operate as outlet ports.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] Mass spectrometry has often been called the "Gold Standard" tool for the identification and analysis of various classes of compounds. Much of the strength of mass spectrometry lies in the ability of modern mass spectrometers to separate, store, and subsequently manipulate specific ion species selected from the numerous ion species typically produced by the ionization of any sample mixture, via ion fragmentation or interionic chemical reactions. In many types of mass spectrometers, quadrupole mass filters are often employed to perform ion separation. For example, in triple quadrupole or quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometers, the mass filter is located upstream of the mass spectrometer. The mass filter can receive ion streams consisting of various ion species with different mass-to-charge (m / z) ratios. Specific pairs of direct-current (DC) and oscillating radio-frequency (RF) voltages may be applied to the rod electrodes of the mass filter to separate specific ion species with a particular m / z. Applying appropriately sized DC and RF voltages allows only a narrow range of m / z values ​​encompassing the desired specific m / z to pass through the mass filter. This operation neutralizes and removes all other ions with different m / z values ​​from the instrument. The ion species containing the desired specific m / z are thus transmitted through the mass filter to other downstream mass spectrometer components without significant contamination from other ion species, allowing these components to manipulate and analyze the separated ion species in various ways.

[0002] While mass filters perform an important function, they are still inefficient in that they simultaneously remove all ions except for specific ions that are permitted to pass through the instrument by selecting the filter passband. As a result, more than 90 percent of potentially available compositionally relevant information can typically be wasted by mass filtering at any given time.

[0003] To improve overall analytical efficiency, various types of preliminary separation devices have generally been employed upstream of the mass filter as a means of providing non-destructive initial coarse separation of ion species. After separation by the preliminary separation device, various coarsely separated ion groups can then be separately transferred to the mass filter for narrow-band separation of the target ion species. For earlier preliminary separation, a smaller proportion of ions are discarded by the mass filter during the separation of each such ion.

[0004] One example of such a preliminary separation method is ion mobility spectroscopy (ion Mobility spectrometry (IMS) is commonly used to separate ionized molecules in the gas phase based on the mobility of ions within a carrier buffer gas. For a general overview of the coupling of ion mobility spectrometers and mass spectrometers, readers should refer to Kanu et al. (Kanu, Abu B., Prabha Dwivedi, Maggie Tam, Laura Matz, and Herbert H. Hill Jr., "Ion mobility-mass spectrometry," Journal of mass spectrometry 43, no.1 (2008):1-22). According to another separation method known as trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS), ions are trapped along a non-uniform DC electric field (electric field gradient) by an opposing gas flow, or along a uniform DC electric field by an opposing gas flow having a non-uniform axial velocity profile (gas velocity gradient). The captured ions are separated in space according to their ion mobility and then eluted (released) over time according to their ion mobility by adjusting either the gas velocity or the DC electric field. Details of the TIMS technique are described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 6,630,662 under the name of inventor Loboda, U.S. Patent No. 7,838,826(B1) under the name of inventor Park, and U.S. Patent No. 11,226,308 under the names of Rather and Michelmann.Further explanations are provided by Michelmann et al. (Michelmann, Karsten, Joshua A. Silveira, Mark E. Ridgeway, and Melvin A. Park, "Fundamentals of trapped ion mobility spectrometry," Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 26, no.1 (2014): 14-24) and Silveira et al. (Silveira, Joshua A., Karsten Michelmann, Mark E. Ridgeway, and Melvin A. Park, "Fundamentals of trapped ion mobility spectrometry part II: fluid dynamics," Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 27, no.4 (2016): 585-595).

[0005] Both ion mobility spectroscopy techniques and trap-type ion mobility spectroscopy techniques utilize ion guides, which are configured to provide an axial DC electric field along their longitudinal direction. Such an axial electric field can be provided by proportionally distributing a voltage applied between the inlet and outlet ends of an ion guide among a plurality of electrodes positioned between the inlet and outlet ends of the ion guide. As an example, the voltage can be proportionally distributed among segments of the rod electrodes of a quadrupole or multipole ion guide apparatus. Alternatively, as will be discussed in more detail later herein, the voltage can be proportionally distributed, for example, between a plurality of mutually parallel electrode plates, or between a plurality of thin electrode wires deposited or otherwise bonded onto a substrate plate or wafer.

[0006] By providing appropriate power and electrical connections, a so-called "traveling wave" DC voltage can be supplied to various rod segments of a segmented quadrupole ion guide, plate electrodes of a laminated plate or laminated ring ion guide, or electrode wires of a printed circuit board (U.S. Patent No. 6,812,453 in the name of inventors Bateman et al.). Generally, in such operation, a periodically fluctuating DC voltage is applied to individual rod segment electrodes, plate electrodes, or wires, with the periodic phase shifting between pairs of electrodes, causing the potential well to move from the ion injection end to the ion outlet end of the ion guide. Traveling DC voltage waves have been used to control ions in mass spectrometers according to several different configurations. The most common commercially available ion guide and mass spectrometer impaction cell using DC traveling waves is the T-Wave® system offered by Waters Corporation (Milford, Massachusetts, USA). The T-Wave™ system employs a stacked ring ion guide that combines radial ion confinement induced by RF voltage with axial ion propulsion induced by a summed DC traveling wave.Other DC traveling wave configurations, known by the acronym "SLIM" (Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulation), have been developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, as described by Tolmachev et al. (Tolmachev, Aleksey V., Ian K. Webb, Yehia M. Ibrahim, Sandilya VB Garimella, Xinyu Zhang, Gordon A. Anderson, and Richard D. Smith. "Characterization of ion dynamics in structures for lossless ion manipulations" Analytical Chemistry 86, no.18(2014):9162-9168) and Ibrahim et al. (Ibrahim, Yehia M., Ahmed M. Hamid, Liulin Deng, Sandilya VB Garimella, Ian K. Webb, Erin S. Baker, and Richard D. Smith. "New frontiers for mass spectrometry based upon structures for lossless This is described in "Ion Manipulations" Analyst 142, no.7 (2017):1010-1021). SLIM ion guides employ a similar traveling wave concept to capture and propel ions, but using a modified electrode configuration suitable for printed circuit board mounting. T-Wave® and SLIM traveling wave systems are most commonly used at relatively high pressures (e.g., about 1 Torr), where the axial motion of ions is hindered by gas collisions, resulting in partial separation based on the collision cross-section.

[0007] Recently, ion guides have been described in which the traveling wave is implemented not by a DC voltage, but by the manipulation of a main RF axial confinement waveform applied to plate electrodes of a multipole rod segment or a multilayer ring structure. According to these teachings, various electrodes in an electrode array (e.g., an array of plate electrodes, rod electrode segments, printed circuit board electrodes, etc.) can be logically grouped into successive subsets of electrodes (e.g., sets each containing three or more electrodes), thereby applying different modulated RF waveforms to each electrode within each subset. Examples include RF traveling waves produced by amplitude modulation (U.S. Patent No. 9,799,503 in the name of inventors Williams et al.) and frequency modulation (U.S. Patent No. 10,692,710 in the name of inventors Prabhakaran et al.). [Overview of the project]

[0008] The following description provides a simplified overview of one or more embodiments of the systems and methods described herein. This overview is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of all intended embodiments, nor to identify the main or important elements of all embodiments, nor to explicitly describe the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present one or more embodiments of the systems and methods described herein as a prelude to the more detailed description presented below.

[0009] In some exemplary cases, an ion router comprises a pair of opposing surfaces, and at least three ports, each of which comprises at least three ports defining an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, at least one of which comprises at least three ports configured as an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, and at least two of which comprises at least three ports configured to selectively act as either outlet ports through which ions exit the ion router, or closed ports through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router, and a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces and configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from the ports configured as inlet ports to the ports that selectively act as outlet ports, and converging toward a common location within the ion router.

[0010] In some exemplary cases, an ion router comprises a pair of opposing surfaces, and at least three ports, each of which defines an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, and at least one of which is configured to selectively act as one of the following: an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, an outlet port through which ions are returned to the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are not received or discharged by the ion router; and a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces and configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from a port acting as an inlet port to a port acting as an outlet port.

[0011] In some exemplary examples, the system is an ion router, having a pair of opposing surfaces and at least three ports, wherein each port included in the at least three ports defines an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, and each port included in the at least three ports is selectively configured to operate as either an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, an outlet port through which ions exit the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router; at least three ports; a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces and configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from a port operating as an inlet port to a port operating as an outlet port; an ion router comprising the above; and an ion sorter coupled to a first port included in the at least three ports, wherein the ion router is configured to transmit ions to the ion sorter when the first port is selectively operating as an outlet port and to receive ions from the ion sorter when the first port is selectively operating as an inlet port.

[0012] In some exemplary examples, a method of operating an ion router includes applying a first direct current (DC) voltage to a first port electrode associated with a first port to selectively operate the first port as an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, an outlet port through which ions exit the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router; applying a second DC voltage to a second port electrode associated with a second port to selectively operate the second port as an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, an outlet port through which ions exit the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router; applying a third DC voltage to a third port electrode associated with a third port to selectively operate the third port as an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, an outlet port through which ions exit the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router; introducing ions into a port operating as an inlet port; and guiding the ions from the port operating as an inlet port to a port operating as an outlet port.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013] The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments and are part of this specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals designate the same or similar elements. [Figure 1A] It is a schematic cross-sectional view of a known stacked ring ion guide ion transport device. [Figure 1B] It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary plate electrode that can be employed in a stacked ring ion guide ion transport device. [Figure 1C] It is a schematic diagram of a known ion manipulation and ion guide device that can be employed as an ion transport device. [Figure 1D]Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of the electrode configuration on the surface of a known ion manipulation and ion guide device. [Figure 2A] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an ion tunnel stacked ring ion guide according to this instruction. By applying a static and uniform DC axial electric field to counteract the downstream movement of pseudopotential wells generated by the application of traveling high-frequency (RF) waves, ions can be moved in different directions depending on their mass-to-charge (m / z) ratio. [Figure 2B] Figure 2A is another schematic cross-section of the ion tunnel stacked ring ion guide, where ions are moved to various different stable zones according to their respective mass-to-charge (m / z) ratios by the application of a static, non-uniform DC axial electric field that counteracts downstream movement in the pseudopotential well, and where they accumulate. [Figure 2C] This is a schematic diagram of ion extraction from the stacked ring ion guide apparatus shown in Figure 2A, in order of each m / z ratio, by tilting the amplitude of one or more RF voltages applied to the electrodes of the apparatus. [Figure 3A] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the ion funnel stacked ring ion guide according to this instruction. Ions are drawn toward the narrow downstream end of the funnel, and by applying a static, uniform DC axial electric field to counteract the upstream movement of the pseudopotential well generated by the application of a traveling RF wave, the ions are moved in different directions depending on their mass-to-charge (m / z) ratio. [Figure 3B] This is a modified version of the ion manipulation and ion guide device shown in Figure 1C, based on this instruction. [Figure 4A] This is a set of simulated plots of the equilibrium positions of ions at various m / z ratios within an ion-guided ion separator device under the application of a DC axial electric field gradient, with their directions opposite to those of the traveling wave generated by the RF. [Figure 4B] This is a set of simulated plots of the equilibrium positions of ions at various m / z ratios within an ion-guided ion separator device, under the application of a gradient in the amplitude of a traveling wave-induced RF waveform in the presence of a counteracting uniform DC axial electric field. [Figure 5] This is a schematic diagram of a portion of a mass spectrometer apparatus, including an ion optics device configured and operating in accordance with these instructions, and a quadrupole mass filter or other mass spectrometer components arranged in series. [Figure 6A] Figure 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the apparatus and the ion packets within it, further illustrating a schematic example of how the DC voltage can be distributed between the stacked electrodes to generate a static and uniform DC axial electric field. [Figure 6B] A uniform axial electric field counteracts the biasing of ions by the movement of RF-generated propagating pseudopotential wells (pseudowaves) according to some embodiments of this teaching.

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[0014] This application relates to mass spectrometers and mass spectrometry methods. More specifically, this application relates to ion optical components, including ion routers, ion guides, ion traps, and ion separation devices employed in mass spectrometers, and to methods of using such ion optical components within a mass spectrometer. All patents, patent application publications, and other publications referenced herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if they were fully described herein.

[0015] In some examples, as a result of the pseudopotential inductive force (i.e., traveling pseudopotential well) driving ion movement in RF-modulated traveling wave devices being m / z dependent, various ion sorting and / or ion storage devices can be constructed by counteracting the m / z-dependent pseudopotential force with an opposing m / z-independent force, such as an opposing DC electric field. Such RF-DC ion sorting devices can be configured to provide initial coarse separation and temporary storage of ion species independently of the gas flow. Such RF-DC sorting devices can be deployed under both high and medium vacuum conditions, as disclosed herein, and are therefore more versatile than conventional ion sorting devices. Existing DC traveling wave devices require RF confinement separate from the DC traveling wave to move ions, whereas the apparatus and methods described herein utilize an RF voltage to both confine and move ions.

[0016] Since RF-induced traveling waves have an m / z-dependent force (i.e., a greater force at lower m / z values), it is possible to counteract this force with a second, m / z-independent force. For example, a static counteracting DC axial electric field can be created by applying a simple DC potential gradient across multiple electrodes. The combination of counteracting forces can then be used to spatially select ions within an ion guide or ion trap device. Such a pair of counteracting applied forces create three different ion behavior states, as follows: (1) Firstly, for ions with the smallest m / z value where the force due to the RF traveling wave dominates the DC electric field force, the movement is in the direction of the traveling wave. (2) For ions with the largest m / z value dominating the DC axial electric field, the movement is opposite to the direction of the traveling wave. (3) Finally, for ions with a specific critical m / z value, the RF-induced force and the DC potential gradient-induced force equilibrium such that the ion does not move in either direction but is trapped within a specific region within the ion optical device, the location of which depends on a specific m / z value and applied voltage.

[0017] In some embodiments, the ion guide can be configured such that, by the coordinated application of an RF electric field and a static DC electric field, low m / z and high m / z ions are moved in opposite directions, while at the same time, ions with critical m / z values ​​are captured at capture positions within the ion guide. According to some other embodiments, the gradient can be applied to either the RF electric field, the DC electric field, or both. In such cases, the capture position will be m / z-dependent, thereby capturing and spatially separating ions based on their respective m / z values. Thus, in such embodiments, ions can be spatially sorted along the length of the ion guide, similar to how ions in liquid-phase isoelectric focusing move to points in a pH gradient that neutralize the ions. The RF electric field gradient can be created by varying the RF amplitude V along the length of the device, or more simply by changing the electrode geometry, either by varying the axial spacing of the electrodes or the electrode aperture diameter. The DC electric field gradient can be most easily created by changing the resistors in the divider network used to generate the gradient.

[0018] The spatial and temporal ion separation and sorting provided by the apparatus described herein are independent of gas flow. However, optimal operation of such apparatus can be achieved at ambient gas pressures ranging from 0.01 Torr to about 2 Torr. At lower pressures, when ions are drawn out of pseudopotential wells by opposing DCs, gas collisions are insufficient, and ions cannot settle in adjacent pseudopotential wells. In such low-pressure regimes, ions may be pulled by opposing DC electric fields through or across several progressing RF pseudopotential wells. Such low-pressure behavior is detrimental to the final resolution of the separation. The strength of the ion mobility contribution will depend on ionic properties, as well as various controllable parameters such as gas composition and gas temperature. Unfortunately, this ion mobility contribution is difficult to predict as a result of the time-varying RF electric field. Therefore, under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to properly calibrate the response of each apparatus under various selected experimental conditions and different classes of ions. In many embodiments, even at pressures in the range of 0.01 to 0.5 Torr, the contribution of ion mobility effects between ions may be small or negligible compared to the effects caused by differences in ion mass-to-charge ratios or charge differences.

[0019] In the descriptions herein, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or otherwise stated, a singular term encompasses its plural equivalents, and a plural term encompasses its singular equivalent. Furthermore, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or otherwise stated, for any given component or embodiment described herein, any of the possible candidates or substitutes listed for that component may generally be used individually or in combination with each other. Furthermore, it should be understood that the figures shown herein are not necessarily drawn to scale, and some elements may be drawn simply to clarify the invention. Also, reference numerals may be repeated in various figures to indicate corresponding or similar elements. In addition, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or otherwise stated, any enumeration of candidates or substitutes is merely illustrative and not limiting.

[0020] Unless otherwise defined, all other technical and scientific terms used herein have the meanings generally understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs. In case of any conflict, this specification, including definitions, shall prevail. It will be understood that an implicit “about” precedes any quantitative terms referred to herein so as to be minor deviations within the scope of this teaching. Furthermore, the use of “comprise,” “comprises,” “comprising,” “contain,” “contains,” “containing,” “include,” “includes,” and “including” is not intended to be limiting. Where used herein, “a” or “an” may mean “at least one” or “one or more.” Also, the use of “or” is inclusive, and the phrase “A or B” means when “A” applies, when “B” applies, or when both “A” and “B” apply.

[0021] As used herein, the term "DC" refers to a voltage applied to one or more electrodes of a mass spectrometer component (such as an ion tunnel or ion funnel), and does not necessarily imply the application or presence of current through those electrodes. Therefore, the term "DC" is used herein to distinguish the voltages referred to from applied oscillating voltages that oscillate at high frequencies and are themselves called "RF" voltages.

[0022] As used herein, the term “static” applied to a DC electric field (vector field) or RF amplitude refers to a DC electric field or RF amplitude that remains essentially constant over time during a given period, with potentially insignificant fluctuations of less than 10 percent of the average electric field strength or average RF amplitude. The term “uniform” applied to a DC electric field refers to a DC electric field that is maintained to have a magnitude and direction that does not fluctuate substantially except for insignificant statistical fluctuations over a length encompassing a set of electrodes, for example, over a length extending from an ion inlet to an ion outlet of an ion optical component. Conversely, the terms “gradient” and “non-uniform” applied to a DC electric field refer to spatial fluctuations of at least the magnitude of the DC electric field over a set of electrodes, and a DC electric field that is made to exhibit such fluctuations, respectively. Note that a “static” DC electric field can be uniform or have a gradient. The term “uniform” applied to an RF amplitude refers to an RF amplitude that is maintained to not fluctuate substantially over a length encompassing a set of electrodes. Conversely, the terms “gradient” and “non-uniform” applied to an RF amplitude refer to spatial fluctuations of the applied amplitude over a set of electrodes.

[0023] As used herein, the terms “dynamic” and “graded,” as applied to either a DC electric field or an RF amplitude, refer to a DC electric field or RF amplitude that is varied over time, either monotonically increasing or monotonically decreasing, over a period of time. The gradient of the magnitude of a DC electric field applied across a set of electrodes requires a gradient of the DC potential applied to a subset of those electrodes (i.e., one or more of them). Similarly, the gradient of the RF amplitude of an RF waveform applied across a set of electrodes requires a gradient of the RF amplitude applied to one or more of those electrodes.

[0024] A DC electric field or RF amplitude maintained in a static state over a first period may be maintained in a dynamic or tilted state at any other point in time, either before or after the period, and vice versa. Similarly, a DC electric field or RF amplitude maintained in a uniform state over a first period may be maintained in a non-uniform state at any other point in time, and vice versa. As used herein, the terms “urge” and “urges,” when used in relation to the effect of the direction of an applied force on one or more ions, do not necessarily mean that one or more ions are moved in that direction in response to a force, since the direction of movement of any ion at the time of force application depends on its initial momentum vector and the vector sum of all such applied forces.

[0025] As described above, so-called "multilayer ring ion guides" are frequently employed in mass spectrometry to guide or otherwise manipulate ions. In this specification, the term "multilayer ring ion guide" is used to refer to any of the following: an ion guide comprising a series or number of rings or ring-shaped electrodes; an ion guide comprising a series or number of plates or plate-shaped electrodes; and / or an ion guide comprising a series or number of printed circuit boards having electrode structures printed on a substrate surface. Multilayer ring ion guides are often used as either so-called "ion tunnels" or "ion funnels." Figure 1A provides a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of a multilayer ring ion guide apparatus 10 including both an ion tunnel portion 12a and an ion funnel portion 12b. However, it should be noted that many apparatuses simply referred to in the art as "ion funnels" have both an ion tunnel portion and an ion funnel portion, as shown in Figure 1A.

[0026] In general terms, the stacked ring ion guide device 10 comprises multiple closely spaced ring electrodes or plate electrodes 2. A schematic diagram of a typical individual ring electrode or plate electrode 2 is provided in Figure 1B. For clarity, Figure 1A shows only a small number of electrodes 2. It should be noted that in practice, a typical ion funnel or ion tunnel device may have more than 100 individual electrodes. Each ring or plate electrode 2 (Figure 1B) is typically circular and has an opening 8 defined by the inner surface 3 of the ring. Each ring electrode 2 may have one or more tabs, such as tabs 9, for mounting to a support structure (not shown) and, optionally, for providing electrical connections to one or more power sources (e.g., a voltage source and / or any other type of power source).

[0027] Within the ion tunnel, as exemplified by ion tunnel section 12a, all electrode openings in this section have a constant diameter θ. TIn contrast, within the ion funnel portion 12b, the diameters θ of the various openings generally decrease along the direction away from the ion implantation port end 13 of the device toward the ion exhaust port end 18. As used herein, the term “broad end” is used to specify the end of the ion funnel portion where the fluctuating opening diameter θ is largest, and the term “narrow end” is used to specify the opposite end of the ion funnel portion where the opening diameter is smallest. During operation, an oscillating radio frequency (RF) voltage is applied to the electrodes in a defined phase relationship to confine ions radially inside the device. According to a generally defined conventional phase relationship, the phase of the RF voltage waveform of each stacked electrode is shifted by π radians (180 degrees) from the phase of each directly adjacent electrode. The set of all openings of all electrodes 2 defines an ion-occupied volume 11, in which ions generally travel from the ion implantation port end 13 to the ion exhaust port end 18 of the device 10, as indicated by the arrows on the longitudinal axis 16. In the overall operation, a pseudopotential well, centered on axis 16 and generated by the applied RF configuration, serves to confine ions within the ion-occupied volume 11. The relatively large electrode openings at the ion implantation port end 13 and the ion tunnel section 12a of the apparatus are generally employed to capture ion dispersion or diffusion clouds. In contrast, as the electrode opening of the ion funnel section 12b narrows toward the ion outlet 18, the ion cloud is narrowed into a narrow beam that can pass through the narrow opening into the high-vacuum chamber. The movement of ions in the direction from the ion implantation port end toward the ion outlet can be facilitated by the gas flow into which the ions are drawn. Ions can also be biased in the same direction by providing a DC axial electric field generated by differentially supplying DC voltages to the electrodes 2.

[0028] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of another known type of ion manipulating and ion guiding device 50, as taught in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 10,692,710. As described in that patent, the device 50 comprises two parallel substrate plates or wafers 51 and 53 spaced apart from each other, each plate or wafer having a surface on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged. For example, the plates or wafers 51 and 53 may be substrates of a printed circuit board. The electrode support surfaces may face each other across a gap between the two substrate plates or wafers, as shown. A central axis 57 is defined to pass through the device 50. Each electrode support surface has an array of inner electrodes 55 and also has outer guard electrodes 52a, 52b. The outer guard electrodes 52a, 52b are positioned on both sides of the array of inner electrodes 55. The array of inner electrodes 55 and the outer electrodes 52a, 52b extend substantially along the length of the electrode support surface of the substrate plates or wafers 51, 53. During operation, ions can be confined within the gap between the electrode support surfaces and guided parallel to the central axis 57, as taught in U.S. Patent No. 10,692,710.

[0029] Figure 1D schematically shows a portion of the electrode support surface of an individual substrate plate or wafer 53 of a known ion manipulating and ion guiding device 50. In the example shown in Figure 1D, each of the outer guard electrodes 52a, 52b includes a single elongated electrode that is elongated parallel to the central axis 57. The electrode array 55 includes a series of individual electrodes 7a, 7b, 7c, ..., 7m. Although 12 such individual electrodes are shown, the array 55 can contain any number of electrodes. A voltage source (not shown) can apply a voltage to each electrode 7a-7m individually. As described above in the Background Art section of this specification, U.S. Patent No. 10,692,710 further teaches, using the ion manipulating device 50 as an example, that the various electrodes of the inner electrode array 55 can be logically grouped into successive subsets of electrodes (e.g., sets each containing three or more electrodes). The patent further teaches that by supplying differently modulated RF waveforms to each electrode of each subset, a traveling wave can be generated that tends to bias ions parallel to the central axis 57 through the apparatus 50.

[0030] Figure 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the ion tunnel stacked ring ion guide 100 according to this teaching. Although the stacked ring ion guide 100 is shown to comprise only the ion tunnel portion, it may alternatively comprise any number of ion funnel portions and combinations of ion tunnel portions. In the overall operation of the device 100, an ion stream 115 containing an unseparated mixture of ion species is delivered to the ion-occupied volume 101 of the device through the ion injection port 113. Through the operation of the device 100, the original mixture of ion species can be separated into several packets, for example, ion packets 117a, 117b, and 117c as shown, each containing a different subset of the original set of ion species. These partially separated ion packets can then be discharged from the device as a stream of ion packets 119 through the ion outlet 118.

[0031] The physical configuration of electrode 2 of apparatus 100 (Figure 2A) is similar to the physical configuration of the electrodes in the ion tunnel portion 12a of the stacked ring ion guide 10, where each electrode has an opening of diameter θ0, and the collection of openings defines the ion occupied volume 101. Despite this similarity, apparatus 100 differs from apparatus 10 (Figure 1A) in the following respects. (a) The electrodes are logically grouped in a stacked order of subsets of electrodes, each subset containing exactly four electrodes (in this example). (b) The RF voltage waveform applied to the electrodes fluctuates over time within each subset of electrodes to generate a plurality of pseudopotential wells in which ions tend to concentrate, thereby causing the pseudopotential wells to move in a desired direction parallel to the axis of the apparatus, and the set of moving pseudopotential wells is referred herein to as the RF traveling wave or equivalently the “pseudowave”. (c) An axial DC electric field is provided within the ion-occupied volume that tends to bias the ions in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the pseudopotential well. Figure 6A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the apparatus and the ion packet therein of Figure 2A, further illustrating a schematic example of how the DC voltage V can be distributed between the stacked electrodes to generate a static and uniform DC axial electric field. Axial electric field vector near the axis of the apparatus

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[0032] Specifically, with regard to logically grouping electrodes into subsets, Figure 2A shows two such groups (i.e., subsets), each group containing a first electrode 2a, a second electrode 2b, a third electrode 2c, and a fourth electrode 2d. Although only two such groups are labeled in Figure 2A, it should be understood that in the illustrated embodiment, each grouping of four electrodes into subsets relates to all electrodes 2 of the device extending from the ion inlet 113 to the ion outlet 118. According to some alternative embodiments, some electrodes may not be organized into such groups. Although four electrodes per subset are illustrated, the number of electrodes per subset is N. e It is not necessarily limited to four. More generally, N e The repeating distance L is ≥ 3. R This is defined as the distance between consecutive electrodes 2a (or consecutive electrodes 2b, etc.).

[0033] Within each subset of electrodes of the device 100, the four electrodes of the subset differ in that, during operation, each electrode is supplied with a different RF voltage waveform, as will be discussed further below. All electrodes 2a are supplied with a first RF voltage waveform, which in embodiment is identical among all electrodes 2a. Similarly, all electrodes 2b are supplied with a second RF voltage waveform, which in embodiment is identical among all electrodes 2b. Similarly, a third voltage waveform is applied to all electrodes 2c, and a fourth voltage waveform is applied to all electrodes 2d. In summary, N e The voltage waveforms are selected such that a set of moving pseudopotential wells are generated along the axis of the apparatus (coinciding with arrows 115 and 119), thereby forming a set of “traveling waves” that tend to bias ions along the axis. According to the example shown in Figure 2A, the voltage waveforms are configured such that the traveling waves bias ions in the direction from the ion inlet 113 to the ion outlet 118, parallel to lines 115 and 119. However, according to some other embodiments discussed further below herein, the voltage waveforms may be configured to bias ions in the opposite direction.

[0034] According to some embodiments of this teaching, the RF voltage waveforms applied to the electrodes of the apparatus 100 may be selected as described in U.S. Patent No. 9,799,503, which provides an example of a subset of four electrodes of a stacked ring ion guide, each of which is supplied with an RF voltage waveform so that a plurality of moving pseudopotential wells create traveling waves within the ion guide. According to the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 9,799,503, the four RF voltage waveforms may be supplied according to the following first to fourth drive signals.

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[0036] As described above, the number of electrodes per subset is not limited to four electrodes per subset and can include any integer N e (where N e ≧ 3). In such a case, the various electrodes R of each subset and the various voltage waveforms V(t) supplied to the electrodes of each subset can be enumerated as follows by the index variable i in the order starting from the electrode closest to the inlet injection port. [Number]

[0037] Next, the same identical waveform V1(t) is supplied to each electrode represented as R1. Similarly, the same identical waveform V2(t), and so on, is supplied to each electrode represented as R2. According to some embodiments, the phase shift ΔΦ between any two consecutive electrodes in the subset is constant across the subset and is given by the following equation. ΔΦ = 2π / N e formula 3

[0038] However, according to some other embodiments, the phase shift is not necessarily uniform across each subset.

[0039] According to some other embodiments of this teaching, the RF voltage waveform supplied to the electrodes of the apparatus 100 is a frequency-modulated signal S represented by the following equation. FM The generation of a traveling wave by supplying a frequency-modulated waveform driven by may be selected as described in U.S. Patent No. 10,692,710.

[0040] S FM =V c cos(2πf c +βS MS ) Here, f c V is the "carrier frequency" (i.e., the frequency of an unmodulated standard RF voltage waveform), and V c is the voltage amplitude of the RF waveform, β is the frequency modulation index, and S MS This is a frequency-modulated period waveform of frequency, and f M is f c This is a lower frequency. This latter patent describes how the electrodes of a stacked ring ion guide are organized into subsets of eight electrodes, thereby modulating the frequency period waveform S MS This provides a specific example where the phase changes by only 2π / 8 radians (45 degrees) between each pair of electrodes.

[0041] Referring again to Figure 2A, arrow 110 indicates the direction of movement of the pseudopotential well (i.e., the traveling wave) generated by the RF, which may be generated as described above. As indicated by arrow 110, the application of the RF waveform may be configured such that the traveling wave exerts a force on the ion that tends to bias the ion in a “forward” direction, generally from the ion inlet 113 toward the ion outlet 118. However, in alternative embodiments, the direction of movement of the pseudopotential well may be reversed relative to the direction of movement shown in Figure 2A by reversing the phase relationship of the driving waveforms applied within each subset of electrodes. Figure 2A also shows that a static, uniform DC axial electric field is also generated that exerts a force on the ion that tends to counteract the force exerted by the movement of the pseudopotential well according to this teaching. A schematic example of the magnitude of the static, uniform DC axial electric field is provided by plot 508 in Figure 6A. Thus, arrow 111 indicates the direction in which the same ion is biased to move by the applied static, uniform DC axial electric field. Therefore, according to the operation shown in Figure 2A, the DC axial electric field is applied in such a way that it tends to bias the ions in the "reverse" direction from the ion outlet 118 towards the ion inlet 113. However, it should be noted that if the direction of movement of the pseudopotential well is reversed from the direction shown in Figure 2A, and the traveling wave instead tends to bias the ions toward the ion inlet 113, the direction of the DC axial electric field is also reversed relative to the direction shown in Figure 2A, and the DC axial electric field thus reversed will bias the ions toward the ion outlet 118.

[0042] The DC axial electric field created within the ion-occupied volume 101 can be generated, as is known, by dividing the end-to-end voltage difference along the length of the apparatus by including a series of resistors between the electrical connections to the various electrodes 2. Alternatively, the DC axial electric field may be generated by any one of several other known methods.

[0043] As shown in Figure 2A, the opposing pseudopotential and DC axial electric field forces applied create three different ion behavior states, as follows: (1) Firstly, for ions with the smallest m / z value such that the force due to the RF traveling wave exceeds the DC electric field force (e.g., ions in ion packet 117a), the movement is in the direction of the traveling wave, as indicated by the motion vector 118a; (2) For ions with the largest m / z value such that the DC axial electric field is dominant (e.g., ions in ion packet 117c), the movement is in the opposite direction to the traveling wave, as indicated by the motion vector 118c; and (3) Finally, for ions with a specific critical m / z value that depends on the applied voltage (e.g., ions in ion packet 117b), the RF-induced force and the DC gradient-induced force are in equilibrium, and such ions do not move in either direction. Therefore, when the apparatus 100 operates as shown in Figure 2A, it simultaneously operates as (a) a mass filter that allows only ions with relatively low m / z values ​​(i.e., below critical values) to pass through the outlet flow 119 to downstream devices (such as quadrupole mass filters and / or collision cells and / or mass spectrometers), (b) a single mass-charged ion trap or ion accumulator for ions with critical m / z values, and (c) a filter that removes all ions with m / z values ​​greater than critical values.

[0044] Figure 2B is another schematic cross-sectional view of the ion tunnel stacked ring ion guide 100 as introduced in Figure 2A, but consisting of and operating in an alternative mode that causes differential movement of ions through the ion guide, as well as spatially separated capture of ion species according to their respective mass-to-charge (m / z) ratios. According to the operating mode shown in Figure 2B, the applied static DC axial electric field counteracting the pseudopotential-induced traveling wave is not uniform, but instead decreases in magnitude in the overall direction from the ion outlet 118 to the ion injection port 113. Specifically, as indicated by arrow 112, the DC axial electric field continues to generate a force that tends to bias the ions in the "upstream" direction opposite to the "downstream" direction (indicated by arrow 110) in which the ions are biased by the traveling wave. However, the magnitude of the DC axial electric field vector is non-uniform and decreases in the upstream direction. Under such operation, various ion species within the m / z range are trapped within the ion-occupied volume as each such ion species moves to an axial position where the upstream DC axial electric field precisely equilibrium with the downstream pseudopotential inductive force exerted on the mass-charge value of the ion species, and accumulates there. For example, in Figure 2B, the approximate axial equilibrium position is the mass-charge ratio (m / z) L A first ion packet 117a having a mass-to-charge ratio (m / z) M A second ion packet 117b having, and a mass-to-charge ratio (m / z) H This is shown for a third ion packet 117c having (m / z) H >(m / z) M >(m / z) LAlthough only three packets of ions with a specific m / z value are shown in Figure 2B, in reality, there is usually a range of substantially continuous equilibrium positions for ions with m / z values ​​within a specific m / z value, and the equilibrium m / z value decreases in the overall direction toward the ion outlet 118. In addition, certain ion species with small m / z values ​​outside the range may move toward the ion outlet, and certain other ion species with large m / z values ​​outside the range may move toward the ion inlet. Thus, in the operating mode schematically shown in Figure 2B, the device 100 functions as a multi-mass-charged ion sorting ion trap.

[0045] As shown in Figure 2B, in order to extract ions trapped at various equilibrium positions, the amplitude of the phase-shifted and / or frequency-modulated main RF voltage can be tilted upward over time (i.e., gradually increased) as described above, so that the equilibrium positions corresponding to all m / z values ​​move toward the ion outlet as the RF voltage amplitude is tilted, as shown by the displacement vectors 118a, 118b, and 118c in Figure 2C. Additionally or alternatively, the magnitude of the opposing DC electric field may be tilted downward (i.e., gradually decreased). In this example, the trapped ions with the smallest m / z value (e.g., the ions in packet 117a) pass through the ion outlet first, and the ions with the largest m / z value (e.g., the ions in packet 117c) exit last.

[0046] In alternative embodiments, it should be noted that the direction of the traveling wave and the direction of the opposing DC electric field may be reversed from the directions shown in Figures 2A and 2C. In such alternative embodiments, the ion species with the largest m / z value is first discharged from the apparatus when the "direction" of the slope of the RF amplitude (of the traveling wave biasing the ions toward the ion injection port 113) (i.e., either an "upward" or "downward" slope) and the "direction" of the slope of the magnitude of the DC electric field (biasing the ions toward the ion outlet 118) are reversed. While many of the basic examples discussed herein refer to the slope of either the RF amplitude or the DC electric field, it should be further noted that more generally, the RF amplitude and the DC electric field may be sloped simultaneously, thereby increasing or decreasing both the RF amplitude and the magnitude of the DC electric field while they are sloped simultaneously. In other cases, simultaneous slope may include an increase in the RF amplitude and a simultaneous decrease in the magnitude of the DC electric field. In yet another case, simultaneous slope may include a decrease in the RF amplitude and a simultaneous increase in the magnitude of the DC electric field.

[0047] As described above, a stacked ring ion guide in the form of an ion tunnel can be fabricated to function as either a single-mass-charged ion trap or ion accumulator (as described with reference to Figure 2A) by (a) providing a uniform DC axial electric field to counteract a traveling wave uniformly applied over the length of the device, or (b) a multi-mass-charged ion sorting ion trap when there is a longitudinal spatial gradient in either the counteracting DC electric field and / or the propulsion force of the pseudowave. In the case of an ion tunnel device, the operation to create a “longitudinal spatial gradient in the propulsion force of the pseudowave” requires supplying different RF waveforms (e.g., different RF amplitudes) to the electrodes of the device at various different positions between the ion inlet and ion outlet. In such cases, the required electronics can be complex, expensive, and / or difficult to design or manufacture. However, in the case of an ion funnel ion guide device such as the ion funnel device 200 shown in Figure 3A, the gradient in the depth of the pseudopotential well and the resulting gradient in the propulsion force are created by the geometry of the device. Specifically, within the ion funnel apparatus 200, the depths of the various pseudopotential wells increase in the direction of ion funnel convergence (see, for example, Figure 1 of U.S. Patent No. 9,799,503), which is essentially due to an increase in the proximity of the electrode edges to the ion beam in the same direction (centered near the device axis). Thus, using the direction of the traveling wave generated by the RF directed to bias the ions toward the ion implantation port 213 (arrow 210) and the direction of the DC electric field directed to bias the ions toward the ion outlet 218 (arrow 211), the apparatus 200 can operate as a multi-mass-charge ion selective ion trap without applying any electric field gradient. Using the configuration shown in Figure 3A, relatively "light" (small m / z) ions can be trapped in region 117a adjacent to the ion implantation port 213, while at the same time, relatively "heavy" (large m / z) ions can be trapped in region 117c adjacent to the ion outlet 218. As mentioned above, the intermediate m / z ions are trapped within region 117b.The captured ions can be released in reverse order of their m / z ratio by either tilting the magnitude of the DC electric field upward (i.e., to a larger value) and / or tilting the applied RF amplitude downward (i.e., to a smaller value).

[0048] Figure 3B shows a modified version of the ion manipulation and ion guiding device in Figure 1C, according to this instruction. The ion manipulation and ion guiding device 250 shown in Figure 3B is modified from device 50 (Figure 1C) so that it can operate similarly to the operation of the ion funnel 200 (Figure 3A), as described above. In contrast to device 50, in which parallel plates or wafers 51 and 53 are configured to support an array of inner electrodes 55 and a set of outer guard electrodes 52a, 52b, the modified device 250 is configured such that the plates or wafers 251 and 253 converge toward each other along the direction away from the ion injection port 313 toward the ion outlet 318. For example, as shown in Figure 3B, plates / wafers 251 and 253 are separated from each other by a first separation distance s1 at the ion implantation port 313 and by a second separation distance s2 at the ion outlet 318, where s1 > s2, and there is continuous convergence of plates / wafers 251 and 253 between the ion implantation port 313 and the ion outlet 318.

[0049] In some examples, an RF traveling wave can be generated along the axis 57 of the device 50 by manipulating a main RF axial confinement waveform applied to a series of individual electrodes 7a, 7b, 7c, ... (see Figure 1D) of a series of mutually opposing electrode arrays 55. Additionally, a DC electric field to counteract the motion of ions subsequently energized by the RF traveling wave can also be generated within either the device 50 (Figure 1C) or a modified device 250 (Figure 3B). For example, a static and uniform DC electric field can be generated within either the device 50 or the modified device 250 by distributing the DC potential difference imposed between the ion injection port 313 and the ion outlet 318 among multiple internal electrodes of each plate / wafer 251, 253. The distribution of the voltage difference can be achieved by a voltage divider system, as is well known. Additionally or alternatively, an axial DC electric field may be generated, or otherwise, the generated axial electric field may be supplemented by providing guard electrodes 52a, 52b on each plate / wafer, which are made of an electrically resistive material (as opposed to a conductive material such as a metal). For example, the resistive guard electrodes 52a, 52b may be formed from any one of several suitable materials having electrically resistive properties (e.g., doped glass, cermet, polymer, etc., but not limited to these).

[0050] This is because, within the device 250, the electrodes 55 of the two electrode arrays (one electrode array supported on each of the plates / wafers 251 and 253) gradually approach each other along the direction from the ion injection port 313 to the ion outlet 318, and thus a gradient exists in the depth of the pseudopotential well, with the well depth increasing in the same direction. The increasing well depth creates a gradient in the propulsion force provided by the traveling wave generated by the RF. Therefore, if the traveling wave generated by the RF is configured to bias the ions within the device 250 away from the ion outlet 318 towards the ion injection port 313, and if the biasing of the traveling wave is counteracted by a static, uniform DC electric field that biases the ions towards the ion outlet 318, then different ion species with different respective m / z values ​​will establish different respective equilibrium positions within the device. In this situation, the distribution of equilibrium positions is similar to that depicted in Figure 3A, with ions 117a having a smaller mass-to-charge ratio being closer to the ion injection port than ions 117b and 117c having a larger mass-to-charge ratio, and ion 117c having the largest mass-to-charge ratio being closest to the ion outlet. The captured ions can then be emitted from device 250 in reverse order of their m / z ratio by either tilting the magnitude of the DC electric field upward (i.e., to a larger value) and / or tilting the applied RF amplitude downward (i.e., to a smaller value).

[0051] The following discussion relates to Figures 6A–6H, which are schematic graphs of various voltages and DC electric fields within an ion guide operating according to this instruction. In each of these figures, it is assumed that the ion inlet 113 at position 0 corresponds to the left side of the respective graph, and the ion outlet 118 at position L corresponds to the right side of the plot. It is also assumed that a set of pseudowaves is applied to the electrodes of each ion guide to bias the ions from the ion inlet to the ion outlet. Note that the absolute magnitude of the applied DC voltage is plotted in Figures 6C and 6E, respectively. When positively charged ions are introduced into an ion guide or ion separator device operating as described herein, the overall movement of ions within the device will be as described, provided that the applied DC voltage profile is in a general form such as the profiles shown in Figures 6C and 6E. However, when negatively charged ions are introduced into the apparatus, if the applied DC voltage profile has a general form that is a mirror image (i.e., reflected across the horizontal axis) of the profile shown in Figures 6C and 6E, the overall movement of ions within the apparatus will be as described.

[0052] As described above, a uniform DC electric field can be applied to counteract the motion of a set of moving RF potential wells (i.e., a set of pseudowaves) in order to separate ions containing a specific m / z range within the ion guide (see, for example, Figure 2A). For example, plot 508 in Figure 6A shows a uniform axial DC electric field that can be created by applying a series of DC voltages to various individual electrodes of the ion guide, with the applied voltage increasing linearly from the ion inlet to the ion outlet (i.e., plot 501 in Figure 6A). Also, as described above, a non-uniform axial DC electric field can be applied to counteract the motion of the pseudowaves in order to cause the ion guide to emit ions from the ion outlet in either increasing or decreasing m / z order (see, for example, Figure 2C).

[0053] Figure 6B shows the absolute size.

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[0054] Regarding the use of an ion guide as an ion separation and sorting device (e.g., Figure 2C) in which ions are emitted in order of their m / z values, the mass spectral resolution R of the device can be adapted by utilizing a non-uniform electric field profile, as schematically shown in Figure 6D, which can be generated by applying a DC voltage to the electrodes according to the voltage profile shown by segments 504a and 504b in Figure 6E. Specifically, the magnitude of the axial DC electric field that counteracts the ion motion caused by the pseudowave.

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[0055] Ions are introduced into an ion guide device, which can be configured using a traveling RF voltage and a static DC voltage as shown in Figures 6D and 6E, via an ion inlet 113. The location of the ion inlet 113 is shown as position 0 in Figures 6D and 6E. A radio frequency (RF) voltage waveform is applied to the electrodes of the device, creating a set of traveling RF waves that create a pseudopotential well that energizes the ions through the device from the ion inlet 113 to the outlet 118 located at position L. Simultaneously, a DC voltage is applied to the electrodes, having a general form shown by the dashed lines 503a and 503b in Figure 6D, creating an axial electric field that energizes the ions toward the ion inlet 113. After the introduction of the ions, the amplitude A of the applied RF voltage... RF The mass-to-charge ratio (m / z) is tilted (i.e., increased) over time. Under such conditions, as previously described herein, packets of ions having different respective m / z values ​​separate from each other and move through the apparatus toward the ion outlet 118 at different velocities. Figure 6D shows the mass-to-charge ratio (m / z) within the apparatus. L (m / z) M , and (m / z) H The positions of the three packets 517a, 517b, and 517c of ions, each having the respective characteristics, are schematically shown, and at a specific time t1 during the slope before any of the ions reach the plateau region 503b of the DC electric field profile, (m / z) H >(m / z) M >(m / z) LTherefore, the instantaneous position of any such ion packet at any given time represents the axial position within the device where the instantaneous forward bias of the ion packet by a pseudowave, such as that generated by the tilted RF amplitude at a given time, slightly overcomes the reverse bias of the ion by the electrostatic field along the electric field segment 503a. As previously stated, these opposing forces cause the ion with the smallest m / z value (e.g., the ion in packet 517a) to move most rapidly toward the ion outlet, and as a result, these ions reach point p1 at time t1. The ion with the largest m / z value (e.g., the ion in packet 517c) moves most slowly, and as a result, only reaches point p3 at time t1. At the same time, the ion with an intermediate m / z value (e.g., the ion in packet 517b) reaches point p2.

[0056] Figure 6F is a schematic diagram of the position of the ion packet in Figure 6D at a second time t2 following time t1, where the applied RF amplitude is such that the forward biasing pseudopotential force on the ion in ion packet 517a is E along electric field intensity segment 503b. maxThe electrostatic force is initially equal to the maximum reverse biasing electrostatic force corresponding to the point, and then tilted to substantially exceed this. As a result, multiple portions of the ion packet 517a are collected by individual moving pseudopotential wells, thereby transported downstream in a conveyor belt manner from position pc to the ion outlet 118 at position L. This movement of ions along the flat electric field strength profile 503b is relatively rapid compared to movement along the rising voltage profile 503a, because the additional tilt of the RF amplitude is not satisfied by the corresponding increase in the DC electric field biasing in the reverse direction. Simulations of ion motion show that a portion of the ions in each ion packet may move in the reverse direction (i.e., towards the ion inlet 113) within the constant electric field region 503b, but they move less frequently than in the variable electric field region 503a. On average, the moving pseudopotential wells move the ions forward away from point pc towards the ion outlet 118, so the ions can efficiently escape from the region 503a near point pc.

[0057] As ion packet 517a is transported from position pc to position L, ion packets 517b and 517c remain at positions p1 and p2, upstream of position pc, as a result of the previous spatial separation of the various ion packets. The forward-biasing pseudopotential force at these positions is only sufficient to nearly equilibrium (i.e., slightly exceed) the reverse-biasing DC electric field force, so the RF amplitude slopes further until the subsequent time t3 when packet 517b reaches position pc, and the ions in both of these packets continue to move relatively slowly toward position pc. As shown in Figure 6G, a further slope of the RF amplitude causes the ions in packet 517b to be transported relatively quickly from position pc to position L. A further additional slope similarly transports the ions in packet 517c (not shown).

[0058] As described above with reference to Figures 6G to 6H, ion transport through the ion guide causes the appearance of ion packets with different m / z values ​​from the ion outlet 118 of the device to be temporally separated by at least the flight time of the ion from position pc to the ion outlet 118. The axial electric field profile opposing the forward motion of the ions does not need to be precise, as shown in Figures 6D, 6F, and 6G. For example, a general form of voltage profile shown in Figure 6H, where the profile along the second segment 503b is not constant, can also be usefully employed. Simulations of ion motion and distribution show that the precise form of the electric field within the "constant" region (i.e., the region shown by the voltage profile segment 503b) is not important. Simulations show that the best m / z resolution is achieved when the electric field within the profile segment 503b is constant, but small fluctuations have only a slight impact on performance. In any case, any gradient of the DC electric field within profile segment 503b should be smaller than the gradient of the DC electric field within profile region 503a, which is used for the initial spatial separation of ion species by m / z.

[0059] Furthermore, the amplitude A of the applied RF waveform RF The gradient can be selected according to the requirements of the specific measurement. For example, if the ion guide device is employed as a mass spectrometer of the type operating in general inspection mode and all ions emerging from the ion outlet are detected, then A can be set as schematically shown in Figure 7A. RF A continuous slope can be adopted. Figure 7A shows the A over time. RFWhile a linear variation is shown, alternatively, the variation may be nonlinear, having a steeper slope (i.e., a faster increase in amplitude) at times during the gradient when ions emerging from the instrument are not expected to require detection at the maximum achievable resolution, and a shallower slope (i.e., a slower rate of amplitude increase) at other times when emerging ions are expected to require a higher level of m / z discrimination. For example, Figure 8 shows the expected achievable mass spectral resolution of an ion as a function of m / z at a constant RF gradient velocity. Figure 9 shows that a longer duration allocated to the completion of the gradient is expected to result in higher resolution. Figure 7B shows, for example, a longer residence time Δt at the time when a particular ion of interest is expected to emerge from the instrument, and a variable amplitude jump ΔA at the time when the ion of interest is not expected. RF It exhibits a discontinuous, stepwise gradient accompanied by this. The expected appearance time of an ion with a particular m / z value can be predetermined by calibrating the passage time of known standard ions through the instrument under various conditions.

[0060] Figures 4A and 4B represent the simulated performance of an ion sorting apparatus configured and operating according to this instruction. The simulated apparatus is 160 mm wide and has 320 electrodes and 160 pseudopotential wells. The simulation assumed a typical separation / equilibrium time of 40 milliseconds and operation in the presence of 100 mTorr nitrogen gas. The plots in Figure 4A represent the equilibrium positions of ions with various m / z ratios in such an apparatus under the application of a DC axial electric field gradient and simultaneously under the application of an RF waveform that does not vary over the length of the apparatus. In contrast, the plots in Figure 4B represent the equilibrium positions of the same ions under the application of an RF amplitude gradient over the length of the apparatus in the presence of a uniform DC axial electric field. Traces 301 (Figure 4A) and 351 (Figure 4B) both represent ions with a virtual m / z value of 500 Th. Similarly, traces 302 and 352 represent ions with an m / z ratio of 600 Th, traces 303 and 353 represent ions with an m / z ratio of 700 Th, traces 304 and 354 represent ions with an m / z ratio of 800 Th, traces 305 and 352 represent ions with an m / z ratio of 900 Th, and traces 306 and 356 represent ions with an m / z ratio of 1000 Th.

[0061] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a mass spectrometer apparatus, including an ion transporter 500 configured according to the above instructions, and an ion filter 400 or other mass spectrometer components arranged in series with it. Apparatus 500 may comprise any embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, or any other apparatus not shown operating in accordance with this teaching, including, but not limited to, ion guides comprising a series of electrodes arranged on or otherwise bonded to a parallel plate or wafer (e.g., Figures 1C, 1D), ion guides comprising a series of electrodes arranged on or otherwise bonded to a non-parallel plate or wafer (e.g., Figure 3B), ion tunnels (e.g., Figures 2A-2C), ion funnels (e.g., Figure 3A), ion guides having both any number of ion tunnel portions and ion funnel portions (e.g., Figures 1A-1B), ion guides comprising a series of segments of a quadrupole rod in which a series of electrodes are segmented, and other ion guides capable of providing both axial electric field gradients (end-to-end or over only a portion of the device length) and longitudinal gradients (end-to-end or over only a portion of the device length) in RF amplitude or any other RF parameter.

[0062] As shown in the figure, the apparatus 400 is a quadrupole mass filter comprising four mutually parallel rod electrodes 401, which are aligned and maintained relative to each other by a support structure 415 which can also provide electrical connections to the rods. In other cases, the apparatus may include, but is not limited to, a multipole ion trap, a multipole fragmentation cell, an ion guide, or any type of mass spectrometer. Preferably, a controllable ion gate 410 is located between the ion outlet of the apparatus 500 and the ion inlet of the apparatus 400.

[0063] In the operation of the system shown in Figure 5, the apparatus 500 provides an ion outlet stream 119, and at any given time, the range of mass-charge (m / z) values ​​of the ions constituting the outlet stream 119 is narrowed compared to the wider range of m / z values ​​provided to the inlet end of the apparatus 500 in the inlet ion stream 115, and the range of (m / z) values ​​constituting the outlet stream 119 changes over time to either larger or smaller m / z values. Thus, in practice, the operation of the apparatus 500 is similar to that of a conventional mass filter, where the mass-charge passband of the mass filter is scanned over time, except that the passband of the apparatus 500 is wider than that of a conventional mass filter, and ions within each passband range can be accumulated and temporarily stored in the apparatus 500 before being released from the apparatus. Thus, the apparatus 500 performs the function of ion accumulation, as well as the function of partially pre-separating ions before transferring them to the conventional apparatus 400. If the conventional instrument 400 is equipped with a quadrupole mass filter, such a mass filter can isolate a narrower m / z range, and each isolated range contains a specific ion species of analyte.

[0064] The ion outlet flow 119 may be either continuous or discontinuous in time. The continuity of delivery of the ion outlet flow to the apparatus 400 can be controlled by the operation of the ion gate 410, thereby limiting the m / z range of ions that can be transferred to the downstream apparatus during any given time interval. During the time when the ion gate 410 is closed (thereby limiting transfer), new ion packets from the inlet ion flow 115 may be accumulated and sorted within the upstream apparatus 500 as described herein. At such times, the applied RF waveform and DC voltage are adjusted to cause sorting (e.g., Figure 2B). When the ion gate 410 is open, the internal RF waveform and DC voltage are adjusted to allow the accumulated ions to move out of the apparatus in either an increasing order of their m / z values ​​(e.g., Figure 2C) or a decreasing order (e.g., Figure 3A).

[0065] Figure 10A is a flowchart of the first method of operation of the ion guide (Method 800) according to this teaching. In the first step, step 801 of Method 800, a pulse of ions containing a range of mass-to-charge ratios (m / z) is input to the first of two separate ion ports of the ion guide. In step 802, the ions are temporarily trapped and / or stored in the ion guide at the end of the ion guide adjacent to the first port. The ions may be trapped and / or stored there by applying a DC voltage to the electrode near the first port to temporarily create a transient static potential well near that port. In the next step 803 (which may be performed before or concurrently with steps 801 and 802), a radio frequency (RF) voltage waveform is applied to a series of electrodes of the ion guide to generate a number of pseudopotential wells configured to bias the ions in a first direction, either away from the first ion port toward the second ion port or, alternatively, toward the first ion port. In step 805, performed concurrently with step 803, a DC potential is applied to each of the two or more electrodes, generating a DC electric field that biases the ions in the opposite direction to the biasing of the ions by the pseudopotential well. The DC electric field can be either uniform (i.e., constant magnitude that does not vary with position) or non-uniform (i.e., magnitude that varies with position) over the length of the ion guide. In an optional step 807, the applied RF amplitude and / or one or more applied DC potentials are gradually sloped over time, either increasing or decreasing, to facilitate the differential movement of ions toward the second ion port. Finally, in step 809, ions are extracted from the second port of the ion guide, containing a range of m / z ratios that is reduced (i.e., a subset of the range) of the m / z ratios of the initially input ions. The extracted ions can be injected into another component of a mass spectrometer, such as a mass filter, collision cell, or mass spectrometer.

[0066] Figure 10B is a flowchart of the second method of operation of the ion guide (Method 810) according to this teaching. In step 811 of Method 810, a radio frequency (RF) voltage waveform is applied to a series of electrodes positioned between the ion inlet and ion outlet of the ion guide, and the RF voltage waveform generates a number of pseudopotential wells configured to bias ions away from the ion inlet toward the ion outlet. In step 813, which is performed concurrently with step 811, each DC potential is applied to each of two or more electrodes that generate a DC electric field configured to bias ions away from the ion outlet toward the ion inlet. The DC electric field can be either uniform (i.e., constant magnitude that does not vary with position) or non-uniform (i.e., has a magnitude that varies with position) along the length of the ion guide. Subsequently, in step 815, a pulse of ions containing a range of mass-charge values ​​is injected into the ion guide through the ion inlet. In step 817, (a) the amplitude of the applied RF waveform is increased, and / or (b) the magnitude of the applied DC electric field is gradually decreased to differentially move the ions through the ion guide toward the ion outlet. In step 819, the ions are extracted from the ion outlet in order of increasing mass-to-charge ratio. The extracted ions can be injected into another component of a mass spectrometer, such as a mass filter, collision cell, or mass spectrometer. According to a modification of method 810, step 815 may be performed before steps 811-813, and an additional step of capturing pulses of ions within the region of the ion guide adjacent to the ion injection port may be performed together with the execution of steps 811-813.

[0067] Figure 10C is a flowchart of the third method of operation of the ion guide (Method 830) according to this teaching. In step 831, a radio frequency (RF) voltage waveform is applied to multiple electrodes of an ion funnel having an ion injection end, an ion outlet end, and multiple plate or ring electrodes between the injection and outlet ends, each having an opening whose diameter decreases from the injection end to the outlet end, and the RF voltage waveform generates multiple pseudopotential wells configured to bias ions toward the ion injection and away from the ion outlet. In step 833, which is performed concurrently with step 831, each DC potential is applied to each of the electrodes, thereby generating a DC electric field configured to bias ions away from the injection end toward the outlet end. Then, in step 835, pulses of ions containing a range of mass-charge values ​​are injected into the ion funnel through its ion injection end. In the optional step 837, the magnitude (i.e., intensity) of the DC electric field toward the ion outlet end of the ion funnel can be increased by grading the DC voltage applied to the electrodes to facilitate the movement of ions toward the ion outlet end of the ion funnel. Finally, in step 839, the ions are extracted from the outlet end of the ion funnel in decreasing order of their m / z ratio. The extracted ions can be injected into another component of a mass spectrometer, such as a mass filter, impaction cell, or mass spectrometer.

[0068] The considerations included in this application are intended to serve as a basic explanation. The present invention is not intended to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein, which are intended as single examples of individual aspects of the invention. Functionally equivalent methods and components are within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. In addition to those shown and described herein, various other variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, a method for generating an axial DC electric field is described herein, in which an end-to-end DC voltage is proportionally distributed (e.g., by using a voltage divider) across a series or number of electrodes to which an RF voltage is also applied. However, many other means of generating an axial electric field within an ion guide are described, many of which utilize a set of auxiliary electrodes to generate the axial electric field. Such auxiliary electrodes are often separate from and added to a series or number of main electrodes that receive the RF voltage waveform. Numerous alternative methods for generating axial or drag electric fields are described in U.S. Patents 7,675,031 (Konicek et al.), 5,847,386 (Thomson et al.), 7,985,951 (Okumura et al.), 7,064,322 (Crawford et al.), and 6,417,511 (Russ, IV et al.). Adapting one or more of these known axial electric field generation techniques to the methods and apparatus described herein has been considered and is within the capabilities of those skilled in the art.

[0069] As another example of a modification of the above teaching, variations in the spacing between adjacent ring electrodes 2 (Figures 1A, 2A, 2B, and 2C), or variations in the spacing between adjacent electrodes of an array 55 supported on a substrate (Figure 1C), may be used as an additional method to create a longitudinal spatial gradient in the propulsion force of the RF-induced traveling wave. For example, the inter-electrode spacing can be varied continuously or discontinuously along the axial length of the ion guide or ion separator device according to this teaching, and this variation creates a corresponding variation in the depth of the pseudopotential well along the length of the device.

[0070] As yet another example of a modification of the above teaching, see here Figures 11A and 11B. The virtual voltage plots shown in Figures 11A and 11B, when considered together, provide an example of the application of two separate DC voltage profiles 930 and 940 to an ion guide device that alternate in time with respect to each other. The left end of each voltage profile corresponds to the ion inlet or "upstream" end of the ion guide device, and the right end of each profile corresponds to the ion outlet or "downstream" end of the device. During operation, each DC profile is supplied simultaneously with the supply of an RF-modulated traveling wave that generates an RF-induced pseudopotential well that biases the ion toward the downstream end of the device to which the DC profile is supplied. DC voltage profiles 930 and 940 are supplied to provide the ion with a force that counteracts the pseudopotential inductive force and thus biases the ion toward the upstream end of the device. Thus, the algebraic signs of the gradients of profiles 930 and 940 implicitly assume that the ion is positively charged.

[0071] Each voltage profile in Figures 11A and 11B includes a series of steep segments 932 separated from each other by a series of shallow segments 933. The terms “steep” and “shallow” are used herein in a relative sense only and do not imply any specific numerical value of the gradient or applied voltage. The steep segments of the voltage profile represent the upstream electric field vector

number

number

number

[0072] The transition from voltage profile 930 (Figure 11A) to voltage profile 940 (Figure 11B) and vice versa is equivalent to either a simple leftward or rightward shift of a single profile, and the shift can be observed to be equal to a constant spatial width of the profile segment. However, by appropriately and finely controlling the distribution of voltage supplied to various individual electrode segments that create the electric field, and the circulation of voltage supplied to those electrodes, the shift can be made much smaller than the segment width. In such cases, the positional changes of the "peaks" 936 and "troughs" 937 of the voltage profile and the electric field magnitude profile may be made to more closely approximate a continuous profile shift, and the positional changes of the peaks and troughs 936, 937 may be referred to as "DC traveling waves." If the upstream moving velocity of peak 936 is controlled to match the moving velocity of target ions along the length of the device, providing such an upstream moving DC traveling wave, in conjunction with the simultaneous provision of a downstream moving RF traveling wave, can facilitate the separation and concentration of specific targeted "heavy" ion species at the upstream end of the ion guide device. Generally, "light" ions also move toward the downstream end of the apparatus under such conditions, but with less efficiency. Conversely, downstream moving DC traveling waves can facilitate the separation and concentration of "light" ions at the downstream end of the apparatus, as well as / or their removal from the apparatus at the ion outlet. Various operating parameters can be controlled as needed.

[0073] It should be noted that as the gas pressure gradually increases beyond 0.01 Torr, the performance of the ion guide device described above gradually changes. This change is expected to result from the fact that as the gas pressure increases, the probability of collisions between ions and gas molecules increases. When the pressure increases slightly beyond 0.01 Torr, the overall characteristics of the device performance remain as described above, but the m / z resolution and the speed at which ion species move through the device change. Generally, higher gas pressures counteract both the downstream and upstream biases created by the applied voltage, but the effect of pressure is maximal with respect to RF traveling waves because the depth of the pseudopotential well decreases with increasing gas pressure. As a result, as the internal pressure increases, the effect of the m / z-independent force exerted on all ions by the applied DC electric field becomes more pronounced with respect to the bias exerted by RF traveling waves. Therefore, at such gas pressures, the performance of the ion guide device described above (e.g., m / z resolution, ion residence time) can be advantageously modified by controlling the gas pressure, depending on the requirements of a particular measurement, experiment, or analysis program.

[0074] As the gas pressure inside the ion guide device increases further, the ion-molecular collision effect becomes increasingly pronounced relative to the effects of the applied DC and RF voltages. Consequently, beyond a certain gas pressure, which depends on the device configuration (e.g., length, cross-sectional area, gas composition, etc.), the collision effect becomes dominant over the effect dependent on the m / z of the applied voltage, and the device's performance tends to resemble that of an ion mobility separator, with its performance being modulated by the applied DC and RF voltages. The performance of such an ion mobility device can be advantageously modified, depending on the requirements of a specific measurement, experiment, or analysis program, by controlling the magnitude of one or more applied RF voltage waveforms, or by controlling one or more frequencies of the applied voltage waveforms.

[0075] Therefore, gas pressure can be considered an additional parameter to be taken into account during the calibration of the performance of an instrument operating as described by this instruction. More generally, gas pressure is one of many operating parameters, such as instrument length, instrument cross-sectional area, gas composition, and RF frequency, that can affect mass spectral results (e.g., mass spectral resolution and measurement rate) but are difficult to model theoretically when combined. Consequently, the behavior of the instrument should be calibrated for each specific instrument before operation so that the effects of these parameters are well understood in each case.

[0076] In some examples, an ion router can be used to selectively guide ions from one component of a mass spectrometry system to another. Such components of a mass spectrometry system may include, for example, an ion guide (e.g., ion guide 100) as described above, an accumulator, a mass filter, a mass spectrometer, an ion optics system, a detector, and / or any other suitable components. Exemplary ion routers, which include multiple channels for guiding ions between selectively operating ports, are described herein. In some examples, the ion router includes a pair of opposing surfaces, at least three ports, each port defining an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, and a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces. In some examples, at least one of the at least three ports is configured as an inlet port into which ions are received by the ion router, and at least two of the at least three ports are configured to selectively operate as either outlet ports into which ions exit the ion router, or closed ports into which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router. In further examples, each of the ports included in at least three ports is selectively configured to operate as either an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port. In some examples, multiple ion channels are configured to receive one or more voltages to converge toward a common location within the ion router and to guide ions from a port configured as an inlet port to a port selectively configured as an outlet port. In some examples, multiple ports are selectively configured as inlet ports, multiple ports are selectively configured as outlet ports, and / or multiple ports are selectively configured as closed ports.

[0077] The ion router described herein offers several advantages over conventional ion guides. For example, selectively operated ports allow for greater flexibility in ion guidance by enabling ion reception and / or discharge at any port included in the ion router, guiding ions from various sources to various destinations, and / or routing ions at various angles within the ion router. Furthermore, the ion router described herein has a simple structure because each port is selectively operated by a voltage applied to the port electrode to guide ions from a port acting as an inlet port to a port acting as an outlet port. Thus, the structure and operation of the ion guide are simplified by using the same electronic drive circuit to selectively operate each port and guide ions between ports.

[0078] Here, various examples will be described in more detail with reference to the figures. The systems and methods described herein may provide one or more of the advantages mentioned above, as well as various additional and / or alternative advantages revealed herein.

[0079] Figures 12 to 15 show various diagrams of an exemplary ion router 1200. Figure 12 shows a perspective view of the ion router 1200. Figure 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the ion router 1200, cut along the dashed line labeled 13 in Figure 12. Figures 14A and 14B show cross-sectional views of the ion router 1200, cut along the dashed line labeled 14 in Figure 12. Figure 15 shows a cross-sectional view of the ion router 1200, cut along the dashed line labeled 15 in Figure 14A.

[0080] The ion router 1200 includes a pair of opposing surfaces 1202 (e.g., surfaces 1202-1 and 1202-2). As shown in the figure, the first surface 1202-1 and the second surface 1202-2 are planar surfaces that are substantially parallel to each other and face each other with a gap between them. Each of the first surface 1202-1 and the second surface 1202-2 can be mounted on any suitable planar structure such as a PCB or a solid substrate (e.g., a glass substrate, ceramic substrate, polymer substrate, etc.). In other examples, the first surface 1202-1 and the second surface 1202-2 are not planar and have curved, undulating, concave, convex, or other non-planar shapes to suit a particular mounting configuration. Furthermore, although the surface 1202 is shown as having a square shape, any other suitable shape that suits a particular mounting configuration, such as a polygon (e.g., a triangle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, etc.), may be used.

[0081] The ion router 1200 further includes a plurality of ports 1204 (e.g., ports 1204-1 to 1204-4). Although Figure 12 shows four ports 1204, the ion router 1200 may have any other suitable number of ports, such as at least three ports 1204 or more than four ports 1204. Each port 1204 is defined in an opening (e.g., gap) between a pair of opposing surfaces 1202. In some examples, each port 1204 is configured to selectively operate as one of the following: an inlet port into which ions are received by the ion router 1200, an outlet port into which ions are left by the ion router 1200, or a closed port into which ions are neither received nor discharged. In some other examples, at least one port 1204 is configured as an inlet port, and at least two ports 1204 are configured to selectively operate as either an outlet port or a closed port. Port 1204 may be further configured to switch between operating as an inlet port, an outlet port, and / or a closed port, for example, during the operation of the ion router 1200. Such selective operation of port 1204 makes it possible to customize the ion router 1200 to selectively receive ions from one or more sources (e.g., ion sources, accumulators, ion guides, ion sorters, etc.) at any one or more ports 1204 and / or to transfer ions from one or more destinations (e.g., accumulators, ion guides, ion sorters, mass spectrometers, etc.) at any one or more other ports 1204.

[0082] In the illustrated example, each port 1204 includes one or more port electrodes 1206 (e.g., pairs of port electrodes 1206-1 to 1206-4) configured to receive one or more voltages (e.g., DC voltage and / or RF voltage) to selectively operate each port 1204 as an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port. For example, the port electrodes 1206 are formed of a conductive material (e.g., metal) configured to receive one or more voltages. As will be described in more detail below, pairs of port electrodes 1206 on opposing surfaces 1202 in port 1204 can receive a DC voltage, thereby generating a force that confines ions within the ion router 1200 in port 1204 operating as a closed port, allowing ions to enter port 1204 operating as an inlet port and / or allow ions to exit port 1204 operating as an outlet port. Therefore, the port electrodes 1206 of each port 1204 may be configured to receive different voltages so that each port 1204 operates independently of the other ports 1204. Furthermore, other suitable configurations can be used to selectively operate the ports 1204. For example, in addition to the port electrodes 1206, or instead, a port 1204 may include any other suitable components (e.g., one or more lenses) configured to receive one or more voltages to selectively operate the port 1204.

[0083] The ion router 1200 further includes a plurality of ion channels 1208 (e.g., ion channels 1208-1 to 1208-4) defined by an array of electrodes 1210 coupled to a pair of opposing surfaces 1202 and configured to receive one or more voltages to guide ions from one or more ports 1204 acting as inlet ports to one or more ports 1204 acting as outlet ports. For example, each ion channel 1208 includes a plurality of first electrodes 1210-1 (shown in gray shading) and a plurality of second electrodes 1210-2 (shown without shading) arranged in an alternating pattern on each surface 1202. As shown in the figure, a plurality of first electrodes 1210-1 and a plurality of second electrodes 1210-2 are arranged on a first surface 1202-1, and another plurality of first electrodes 1210-1 and another plurality of second electrodes 1210-2 are arranged on the second surface 1202-2 opposite to the first surface 1202-1. In Figure 12, the electrode 1210 on the second surface 1202-2 is shown by a dashed line to indicate that the electrode 1210 is located on the side of the second surface 1202-2 facing the first surface 1202-1. The second surface 1202-2 is spaced apart from the first surface 1202-1 to form an ion channel 1208 defined between them by the electrode 1210. Depending on the length of each ion channel 1208, any suitable number of electrodes 1210 and / or sets of electrodes 1210 can be used for each ion channel 1208 to be suitable for a particular implementation configuration. For example, each electrode in a set of electrodes (e.g., electrodes 2a to 2f) may receive the same RF voltage waveform, which may vary across the set of electrodes. In some examples, the ion channel 1208 may contain the same number of electrodes 1210 and / or different numbers of electrodes 1210.

[0084] Electrode 1210 is formed of a conductive material (e.g., metal) configured to receive one or more voltages to guide ions through the ion channel 1208, as will be described in more detail below. In some examples, electrode 1210 on opposing surfaces 1202 within the ion channel 1208 may receive transient voltages (e.g., DC gradient voltage and / or RF traveling wave voltage) and thereby generate one or more forces to guide ions within the ion channel 1208 (e.g., from one or more ports 1204 acting as inlet ports to one or more ports 1204 acting as outlet ports). In some examples, electrode 1210 is further configured to receive confinement voltages (e.g., RF trap voltage and / or DC trap voltage) and thereby generate one or more confinement fields to prevent ions from colliding with the first surface 1202-1 and the second surface 1202-2. Such confinement voltages may be superimposed on electrode 1210 having transient voltages. The ion channel 1208 may be under vacuum, low pressure, or high pressure.

[0085] Therefore, the ion channel 1208 includes a volume in the gap between the first surface 1202-1 and the second surface 1202-2, within which ions can be guided (e.g., driven, transported, propelled, etc.). Each ion channel 1208 is connected to a port 1204, allowing ions to flow from port 1204 to their respective ion channel 1208 and from the ion channel 1208 to their respective port 1204. The illustrated example shows a single ion channel 1208 connected to a single port 1204, but any suitable number of ion channels 1208 can be connected to any suitable number of ports 1204 to guide ions through the ion router 1200.

[0086] Although not shown, the ion router 1200 may include other components that can be adapted to a particular implementation, such as a spacer to maintain the gap between the first surface 1202-1 and the second surface 1202-2, a voltage source, wiring for connecting the electrode 1210 to the voltage source, electronic equipment for controlling the voltage applied to the electrode 1210, and / or guard electrodes positioned between the ion channels 1208 to confine ions within each ion channel 1208.

[0087] Referring now to Figure 13, the array of electrodes 1210 for each ion channel 1208 contained in the multiple ion channels 1208 extends toward a common location 1302 within the ion router 1200. For example, the first ion channel 1208-1 extends from the first port 1204-1 to the common location 1302 (for example, the first channel 1208-1 is represented by the region between dashed lines 1304-1 and 1304-2), the second ion channel 1208-2 extends from the second port 1204-2 to the common location 1302 (for example, the second channel 1208-2 is represented by the region between dashed lines 1304-2 and 1304-3), and The third ion channel 1208-3 extends from the third port 1204-3 to the common position 1302 (for example, the third ion channel 1208-3 is represented by the region between the dashed lines 1304-3 and 1304-4), and the fourth ion channel 1208-4 extends from the fourth port 1204-4 to the common position 1302 (for example, the fourth ion channel 1208-4 is represented by the region between the dashed lines 1304-4 and 1304-1). Thus, the multiple ion channels 1208 converge at the common position 1302, allowing ions to flow from any ion channel 1208 to any other ion channel 1208. As an exemplary example, ions may be configured to flow from a first port 1204-1 acting as an inlet port, through a first ion channel 1208-1 toward a common position 1302, and from a second ion channel 1208-2 toward a second port 1204-2 acting as an outlet port. In the illustrated example, the common position 1302 is located in the central part of the ion router 1200 (e.g., the center of the surface 1202). However, the common position 1302 may be located in any other part of the ion router 1200 (e.g., off-center, edge, corner, etc.) to accommodate a particular orientation.

[0088] The electrodes 1210 defining the ion channels 1208 are arranged along the axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208 (e.g., axes 1306-1 to 1306-4) (e.g., extending from port 1204 to common position 1302). For example, the electrode 1210 of the first ion channel 1208-1 is aligned along the first axis 1306-1 of the first ion channel 1208-1, the electrode 1210 of the second ion channel 1208-2 is aligned along the second axis 1306-2 of the second ion channel 1208-2, the electrode 1210 of the third ion channel 1208-3 is aligned along the third axis 1306-3 of the third ion channel 1208-3, and the electrode 1210 of the fourth ion channel 1208-4 is aligned along the fourth axis 1306-4 of the fourth ion channel 1208-4. As shown in the figure, each axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208 is oriented at a different angle α (e.g., angles α1 to α4) with respect to the axis 1306 of another adjacent ion channel 1208. For example, the first axis 1306-1 is oriented at a first angle α1 relative to the second axis 1306-2, the second axis 1306-2 is oriented at a second angle α2 relative to the third axis 1306-3, the third axis 1306-3 is oriented at a third angle α3 relative to the fourth axis 1306-4, and the fourth axis 1306-4 is oriented at a fourth angle α4 relative to the first axis 1306-1. In the example in Figure 13, each axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208 is oriented at the same angle α of approximately 90 degrees relative to the axis 1306 of each adjacent ion channel 1208. However, any other preferred configuration for the ion channel 1208 may be used so as to be suitable for a particular implementation. For example, a variety of angles α (e.g., approximately 30 degrees to approximately 180 degrees, approximately 60 degrees to approximately 120 degrees, etc.) can be used. Additionally or alternatively, the angle α may be the same across any one or more axes 1306, or it may be different across any one or more axes 1306.

[0089] In some examples, the axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208 forms an ion path through which ions travel. For example, a plurality of first electrodes 1210-1 and a plurality of second electrodes 1210-2 are alternately arranged on a first surface 1202-1 along the axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208, forming an ion path having a central axis corresponding to the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208. Thus, the ion path extends within each ion channel 1208, for example, between port 1204 and common position 1302. In the example of Figure 13, the central axis of the ion path corresponds to the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208. However, the central axis of the ion path is not limited to this configuration and may have any other suitable shape (e.g., curved, wavy, or irregular) and / or any other suitable orientation with respect to the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208. In some examples, the axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208 is the central axis, and the central axes of all ion channels 1208 intersect at a common position 1302.

[0090] As shown in the figure, each electrode 1210 has an elongated rectangular shape with a width that extends outward from the axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208 toward each side edge of each ion channel 1208 (for example, represented by the dashed line 1304). Furthermore, the width of each electrode 1210 included in the array of electrodes 1210 forming each ion channel 1208 decreases continuously along the ion channel 1208 (for example, from the electrode 1210 located adjacent to port 1204 toward the electrode 1210 located adjacent to common position 1302). As a result, the width of each ion channel 1208 decreases along the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208 in the direction toward the common position 1302 from port 1204, so that each ion channel 1208 converges toward the common position 1302 from port 1204. Such convergence of ion channels 1208 toward common position 1302 can facilitate the guidance of ions toward common position 1302 and into another ion channel 1208. In some examples, the convergence of ion channels 1208 can guide ions along an ion path along the central axis 1306 of ion channel 1208, for example, by directing ions inward toward the central axis 1306 of ion channel 1208 and common position 1302.

[0091] However, the electrode 1210 is not limited to this configuration and may have any other suitable shape (e.g., curved, elliptical, oval, corrugated, mountain-shaped, L-shaped, U-shaped, V-shaped, or irregular) to suit a particular implementation. In some examples, the width of each electrode 1210 in the array of electrodes 1210 may be continuous rather than continuously decreasing. For example, the width of the electrode 1210 may be continuous along the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208, and / or the width of the electrode 1210 in the ion channel 1208 positioned toward port 1204 may be continuous, while the width of the electrode 1210 in the ion channel 1208 positioned toward common position 1302 may decrease. Additionally or alternatively, gaps may be provided between the electrodes 1210 of different ion channels 1208.

[0092] In some examples, multiple ion channels 1208 are arranged relative to each other to form a polygon (e.g., triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, etc.). As shown in the figure, four ion channels 1208 are oriented relative to each other to form a square shape. However, any other suitable number of ion channels 1208 may be used to form any other suitable polygon shape that can be adapted to a particular implementation. For example, three ion channels 1208 may be oriented relative to each other to form a triangle, four ion channels 1208 may be oriented relative to each other to form a rectangle, five ion channels 1208 may be oriented relative to each other to form a pentagon, and / or six ion channels 1208 may be oriented relative to each other to form a hexagon. The shape of such a polygon formed by the ion channels 1208 may correspond to the shape of the surface 1202 and / or the shape of the combined polygon formed by the ion channels 1208, which may be different from the shape of the surface 1202. In some examples, the ion channels 1208 are oriented around a common position 1302 such that each ion channel 1208 forms radial segments within the polygonal shape formed by the ion channels 1208.

[0093] Figure 13 further illustrates each port electrode 1206 of the ports 1204 positioned on the edges 1308 (e.g., edges 1308-1 to 1308-4) of the surface 1202. For example, each port electrode 1206 is positioned to extend along at least a portion of each edge 1308 defining the polygonal shape of the surface 1202. As shown, the surface 1202 is square in shape and includes four edges 1308 forming the perimeter of the square shape and four port electrodes 1206 positioned on each edge 1308 around the perimeter. Although each port electrode 1206 is shown to extend straight along each edge 1308 of the surface 1202, the port electrodes 1206 and / or edges 1308 may be curved or form a contour. Additionally or alternatively, the port electrodes 1206 may be spaced apart from the edges 1308 of the surface 1202, and / or any suitable number of port electrodes 1206 may be included in any suitable number of edges 1308 (for example, to omit ports 1204 from one or more edges 1308, and / or to form multiple ports 1204 on one or more edges 1308).

[0094] Figures 14A and 14B show a first surface 1202-1 positioned opposite a second surface 1202-2, forming one or more ports 1204 in one or more openings between them. As shown, each port 1204 includes a port electrode 1206 positioned on each opposing surface 1202. Each surface 1202 further includes a plurality of first electrodes 1210-1 and a plurality of second electrodes 1210-2, which are arranged alternately to define an ion channel 1208 between them. In some examples, the port electrodes 1206, the first electrodes 1210-1, and the second electrodes 1210-2 are directly attached to the surface 1202 (e.g., printed, mounted, fastened, glued, printed, embedded, etc.) and / or spaced apart from the surface 1202 within the ports 1204 or ion channels 1208. Other suitable configurations for the port electrodes 1206 and / or electrode 1210 may be used. For example, the port electrodes 1206 and / or electrode 1210 may, additionally or alternatively, be coplanar with surface 1202.

[0095] As described above, the port electrodes 1206 on the opposing surface 1202 in port 1204 receive a DC voltage, thereby generating a force that confines ions within the ion router 1200 in port 1204 acting as a closed port, allowing ions to enter port 1204 acting as an inlet port and / or allowing ions to exit port 1204 acting as an outlet port. Thus, the port electrodes 1206 of each port 1204 may be configured to receive different voltages so that each port 1204 operates independently of the other ports 1204. For example, the first port electrode 1206-1 may be connected to a first circuit (not shown) configured to supply a first DC voltage from a voltage source (not shown), the second port electrode 1206-2 may be connected to a second circuit (not shown) configured to supply a second DC voltage from the same or a different voltage source, the third port electrode 1206-3 may be connected to a third circuit (not shown) configured to supply a third DC voltage from the same or a different voltage source, and the fourth port electrode 1206-4 may be connected to a fourth circuit (not shown) configured to supply a fourth DC voltage from the same or a different voltage source.

[0096] The first, second, third, and / or fourth DC voltages can be adjusted to selectively operate each port 1204 as an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port. For example, in the case of positive ions, the port electrode 1206 of a port 1204 operating as an outlet port may receive a lower DC voltage than the port electrode of a port 1204 operating as an inlet port, and the port electrode 1206 of a port 1204 operating as a closed port may receive the same or a higher DC voltage than the port electrode 1206 of a port 1204 operating as an inlet port. Alternatively, in the case of negative ions, an outlet port may receive a higher DC voltage than a closed port, and a closed port may receive a higher DC voltage than an inlet port. In some examples, the DC voltage applied to the port electrode 1206 of an inlet port and the DC voltage applied to the port electrode 1206 of an outlet port create a DC gradient from the inlet port to the outlet port. To switch the operation of a port 1204 from an inlet port to a closed port, the DC voltage received by the port electrode 1206 can be increased. Alternatively, the DC voltage received by the port electrode 1206 can be reduced to switch the operation of port 1204 from an inlet port to an outlet port.

[0097] Electrodes 1210 within the ion channel 1208 are configured to receive one or more voltages for inducing ions through the ion channel 1208. In a first voltage scheme, electrode 1210 receives a DC gradient voltage, thereby generating one or more forces for inducing ions within the ion channel 1208. For example, a voltage divider may be included in the voltage supply circuit to connect electrodes 1210 to each other and / or to the port electrode 1206. When a DC voltage is applied to the port electrode 1206, the voltage divider supplies a DC gradient voltage across electrodes 1210 (for example, the voltage divider reduces the DC potential generated at each continuous electrode 1210 in the direction of ion flow, thereby generating a DC gradient). As shown in Figure 14B, such a DC gradient can induce ions 1400 through the ion channel 1208, which may allow the ion router 1200 to be operated solely by applying individual DC voltages at the port electrode 1206.

[0098] In the second voltage scheme, electrode 1210 is further configured to receive a trap voltage (e.g., an RF trap voltage) and superimpose the trap potential onto the DC gradient to confine ions 1400 between the first surface 1202-1 and the second surface 1202-2. In the third voltage scheme, electrode 1210 is configured to receive a trap voltage (e.g., a DC trap voltage) and generate a trap potential to confine ions 1400 between the first surface 1202-1 and the second surface 1202-2, and to receive an RF traveling wave voltage (e.g., instead of a DC gradient voltage) and superimpose the RF traveling wave potential onto the trap potential to induce ions through the ion channel 1208. For example, the RF traveling wave voltage may include a transient RF voltage applied to a particular electrode 1210, so that a pseudopotential well is formed between these electrodes 1210, creating a trap region within the ion channel 1208. The transient RF voltage is then progressively applied to the trailing electrode 1210 in the direction of ion flow along the ion path, thereby causing the trap region to move along the ion channel 1208, which may be referred to as the "traveling wave potential." Once electrode 1210 receives the RF traveling wave voltage and generates the traveling wave potential, the traveling wave potential is applied along the ion path (e.g., axis 1306) to induce ions along the ion path. The amplitude and / or frequency of the traveling wave may vary based on the size of the ion channel 1208, etc.

[0099] In a configuration where electrodes 1210 are configured to receive RF voltages (e.g., RF trap voltage and / or RF traveling wave voltage), the first electrode 1210-1 is configured to receive the first RF voltage, and the second electrode 1210-2 is configured to receive the second RF voltage which is phase-shifted relative to the first RF voltage. In the figure, the first phase electrode 1210 (e.g., the first electrode 1210-1) is shaded in gray, and the second phase electrode 1210 (e.g., the second electrode 1210-2) is not shaded. In some examples, the RF voltage received by the first electrode 1210-1 and the RF voltage received by the second electrode 1210-2 are out of phase.

[0100] In a configuration where the electrodes are configured to receive an RF voltage, the first electrode 1210-1 is connected to a fifth circuit (not shown) configured to supply a first RF voltage from a voltage source (not shown), and the second electrode 1210-2 is connected to a sixth circuit (not shown) configured to supply a second RF voltage from the same or a different voltage source. In the example where the voltage source is the same for the fifth and sixth circuits, either the fifth or sixth circuit may include any suitable phase-shift circuit or phase-shift module. Alternatively, the first electrode 1210-1 may receive a first RF voltage, while the second electrode 1210-2 receives a DC voltage and / or is grounded. When the electrodes 1210 are configured to receive an RF traveling wave voltage, the ion channel 1208 may include at least three sets of electrodes 1210 to give directionality to the traveling wave. For example, a third set of electrodes may be alternately positioned between the first electrode 1210-1 and the second electrode 1210-2 to receive a third RF voltage. The waveform amplitudes of the first, second, and third RF voltages are modulated, and the modulation phase varies between the electrode sets, generating a traveling wave pseudopotential that induces ions along the axis of each ion channel 1208.

[0101] Figure 15 shows exemplary ion orbitals 1500 (e.g., ion orbitals 1500-1 to 1500-3) illustrating the flow of ions 1400 along one or more ion paths of ion channels 1208 corresponding to the axis of ion channel 1208 (e.g., axis 1306). For example, the first ion orbital 1500-1 includes routing of ions 1400 from a first port 1204-1 acting as an inlet port to a second port 1204-2 acting as an outlet port, while the third port 1204-3 and fourth port 1204-4 act as closed ports. Thus, the first port electrodes 1206-1 on each opposing surface 1202 receive a first DC voltage to cause ions 1400 to flow into the first port 1204-1 and into the first ion channel 1208-1. The electrode 1210 of the first ion channel 1208-1 receives a DC gradient voltage or an RF traveling wave voltage and guides ions 1400 through the first ion channel 1208-1 toward a common position 1302 (for example, along the first axis 1306-1). The electrode 1210 of the second ion channel 1208-2 receives a DC gradient voltage or an RF traveling wave voltage and routes ions 1400 to the second ion channel 1208-2, guiding ions 1400 from the common position 1302 through the second ion channel 1208-2 toward the second port 1204-2 (for example, along the second axis 1306-2). The second axis 1306-2 of the second ion channel 1208-2 is oriented at an angle (e.g., a first angle α1) with respect to the first axis 1306-1 of the first ion channel 1208-1, so that the flow of ions 1400 along the first ion orbital 1500-1 changes direction at an angle from the first ion channel 1208-1 to the second ion channel 1208-2. The second port electrode 1206-2 on each opposing surface 1202 receives a second DC voltage lower than the first DC voltage applied to the first port electrode 1206-1, allowing for the discharge of ions 1400 from the second port 1204-2.On the other hand, the third port electrode 1206-3 receives the third DC voltage, and the fourth port electrode 1206-4 receives the fourth DC voltage. Both the third and fourth DC voltages are greater than or equal to the first DC voltage, causing the third port 1204-3 and the fourth port 1204-4 to operate as closed ports.

[0102] As another example, the second ion orbital 1500-2 includes switching the second port 1204-2 from an outlet port to a closed port and the third port 1204-3 from a closed port to an outlet port, routing ions 1400 from the first port 1204-1 to the third port 1204-3, while operating the second port 1204-2 and the fourth port 1204-4 as closed ports. Thus, the first port electrodes 1206-1 on each opposing surface 1202 continue to receive the same first DC voltage, causing ions 1400 to flow into the first port 1204-1 and the first ion channel 1208-1. The electrode 1210 of the first ion channel 1208-1 receives a DC gradient voltage or an RF traveling wave voltage and guides ions 1400 through the first ion channel 1208-1 toward a common position 1302 (for example, along the first axis 1306-1). The electrode 1210 of the third ion channel 1208-3 receives a DC gradient voltage or an RF traveling wave voltage and routes ions 1400 to the third ion channel 1208-3, guiding ions 1400 from the common position 1302 through the third ion channel 1208-3 toward the third port 1204-3 (for example, along the third axis 1306-3). The third axis 1306-3 of the third ion channel 1208-3 aligns with the first axis 1306-1 of the first ion channel 1208-1 (e.g., a combination of first angle α1 and second angle α2), so the flow of ions 1400 along the second ion orbital 1500-2 continues linearly from the first ion channel 1208-1 to the third ion channel 1208-3. The third DC voltage received by the third port electrode 1206-3 on each opposing surface 1202 is adjusted to a lower amount than the first DC voltage (e.g., reduced) to allow the discharge of ions 1400 from the third port 1204-3. On the other hand, the second DC voltage received by the second port electrode 1206-2 and the fourth DC voltage received by the fourth port electrode 1206-4 are adjusted to be higher than the first DC voltage so that the second port 1204-2 and the fourth port 1204-4 operate as closed ports.

[0103] As another example, the third ion orbital 1500-3 includes switching the third port 1204-3 to operate as a closed port and the fourth port 1204-4 to operate as an exit port, thereby routing ions 1400 from the first port 1204-1 to the fourth port 1204-4, while operating the second port 1204-2 and the third port 1204-3 as closed ports. Thus, the first port electrodes 1206-1 on each opposing surface 1202 continue to receive the same first DC voltage, causing ions 1400 to flow into the first port 1204-1 and the first ion channel 1208-1. The electrode 1210 of the first ion channel 1208-1 receives a DC gradient voltage or an RF traveling wave voltage and guides ions 1400 through the first ion channel 1208-1 toward common position 1302 (for example, along the first axis 1306-1). The electrode 1210 of the fourth ion channel 1208-4 receives a DC gradient voltage or an RF traveling wave voltage and routes ions 1400 to the fourth ion channel 1208-4, guiding ions 1400 from common position 1302 through the fourth ion channel 1208-4 toward the fourth port 1204-4 (for example, along the fourth axis 1306-4). The fourth axis 1306-4 of the fourth ion channel 1208-4 is oriented at an angle (e.g., a fourth angle α4) with respect to the first axis 1306-1 of the first ion channel 1208-1, so that the flow of ions 1400 along the third ion orbital 1500-3 is redirected along the angle from the first ion channel 1208-1 to the fourth ion channel 1208-4. The fourth DC voltage received by the fourth port electrode 1206-4 on each opposing surface 1202 is adjusted to a lower amount than the first DC voltage to allow the discharge of ions 1400 from the fourth port 1204-4. On the other hand, the second DC voltage received by the second port electrode 1206-2 and the third DC voltage received by the third port electrode 1206-3 are adjusted to be higher than the first DC voltage so that the second port 1204-2 and the third port 1204-3 operate as closed ports.

[0104] An exemplary example shows a first port 1204-1 designated as an inlet port, from which ions 1400 flow from the first port 1204-1 to a common position 1302 and from there to another port 1204. In some other embodiments, any of the other ports 1204 may operate as an inlet port in addition to, or instead of, the first port 1204-1. In some examples, multiple ports 1204 may operate simultaneously and selectively as inlet ports. Additionally or alternatively, any port 1204 (e.g., not operating as an inlet port) may operate as an outlet port, and in some examples, multiple ports 1204 may operate simultaneously and selectively as outlet ports. Further suitable configurations for selectively operating ports 1204 may be used to suit a particular implementation. For example, ports 1204 may be configured to guide ions simultaneously in the same direction (e.g., towards or away from the common position 1302). Alternatively, each port 1204 may operate selectively and independently of the other ports 1204 (for example, the voltage received by each port 1204 may differ from the voltage received by the other ports 1204).

[0105] During the operation of the ion router 1200, a voltage such as the average voltage of the voltage applied to port 1204 may be supplied to the common position 1302. Thus, the voltage supplied to the common position 1302 is lower than the voltage applied to port 1204 acting as an inlet port and higher than the voltage applied to port 1204 acting as an outlet port. In some examples, the common position 1302 further includes an electrode configured to receive a fifth DC voltage to simultaneously generate a DC field at the common position 1302, which may facilitate the induction of ions 1400 from an ion channel 1208 associated with port 1204 acting selectively as an inlet port to another ion channel 1208 associated with port 1204 acting selectively as an outlet port. Such an electrode may be operated independently of the port electrode 1206 and / or electrode 1210.

[0106] In the example described above, routing ions within the ion router 1200 is achieved by using ion channels 1208 having a triangular shape such that multiple ion channels 1208 form a square shape. However, ion routing may also be achieved by using other ion channel shapes. Examples of alternative ion channel shapes are described here with reference to Figures 16 to 18.

[0107] Figure 16 shows a triangular configuration 1600 of electrode 1210 on surface 1602. Surface 1602 may mount a first surface 1202-1 and / or a second surface 1202-2 of the ion router 1200. For example, port electrodes 1206 and 1210 on surface 1602 may be aligned with port electrodes 1206 and 1210 on another opposing surface 1602 to form ports 1204 and channels 1208 between them. In Figure 16, surface 1602 includes three edges 1308 that form a triangular shape. Port electrodes 1206 extend along each edge 1308 so as to form three ports 1204 when surface 1602 is positioned relative to an opposing surface 1602. Furthermore, the three arrays of electrodes 1210 extend from each port electrode 1206 toward a common position 1302, forming three ion channels 1208 when their surfaces 1602 are aligned with the opposing surfaces 1602. The electrodes 1210 defining the ion channels 1208 are aligned along the axes 1306 of the ion channels 1208. Each axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208 is oriented at a different angle α with respect to the axis 1306 of another adjacent ion channel 1208. As shown in the figure, the three axes 1306 of the ion channels 1208 are aligned at equal angles α around the common position 1302, such that each angle α is approximately 120 degrees.

[0108] Furthermore, the width of each electrode 1210 included in the array of electrodes 1210 forming each ion channel 1208 decreases continuously along the ion channel 1208 (for example, from the electrode 1210 positioned adjacent to port 1204 to the electrode 1210 positioned adjacent to common position 1302). Thus, the width of each ion channel 1208 (for example, between the dashed lines 1304) decreases along the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208 in the direction from port 1204 toward common position 1302. However, the electrodes 1210 are not limited to this configuration. For example, the width of an electrode 1210 (for example, perpendicular to the axis 1306) may continue along the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208, and / or the width of an electrode 1210 in an ion channel 1208 positioned toward port 1204 may continue, while the width of an electrode 1210 in an ion channel 1208 positioned toward common position 1302 may decrease. Additionally or alternatively, gaps may be provided between the electrodes 1210 of different ion channels 1208. In some examples, the array of electrodes 1210 may form T-shaped or Y-shaped ion channels 1208.

[0109] The triangular shape of the ion channel 1208 corresponds to the triangular shape of the surface 1602, although in some other examples, the ion channel 1208 may form a triangular shape on a surface 1602 having a different shape (e.g., square, rectangle, etc.). The array of electrodes 1210 for the ion channel 1208 is oriented around a common position 1302 such that each ion channel 1208 forms a radial segment within the triangular shape formed by the ion channel 1208.

[0110] The illustrated example further shows each port electrode 1206 positioned on the edge 1308 of surface 1602 in a triangular configuration. When surface 1602 is positioned relative to another opposing surface 1602, the port electrodes 1206 receive a DC voltage and can selectively operate each port 1204 as an inlet port, outlet port, or closed port, and the electrode 1210 of the ion channel 1208 can receive a voltage to guide ions from the port 1204 operating as an inlet port to the port 1204 operating as an outlet port. Thus, an ion router 1200 incorporating a pair of opposing surfaces 1602 can receive and / or discharge ions at any of the three ports 1204.

[0111] Figure 17 shows a hexagonal configuration 1700 of electrode 1210 on surface 1702. Surface 1702 may mount a first surface 1202-1 and / or a second surface 1202-2 of the ion router 1200. For example, port electrodes 1206 and 1210 on surface 1702 may be aligned with port electrodes 1206 and 1210 on another opposing surface 1702 to form ports 1204 and channels 1208 between them. In Figure 17, surface 1702 includes six edges 1308 that form a hexagonal shape. Port electrodes 1206 extend along each edge 1308 so as to form six ports 1204 when surface 1702 is positioned relative to an opposing surface 1702. Furthermore, the six arrays of electrodes 1210 extend from each port electrode 1206 toward a common position 1302, forming six ion channels 1208 when their surfaces 1702 are aligned toward opposing surfaces 1702. The electrodes 1210 defining the ion channels 1208 are aligned along the axes 1306 of the ion channels 1208. Each axis 1306 of each ion channel 1208 is oriented at a different angle α with respect to the axis 1306 of another adjacent ion channel 1208. As shown in the figure, the axes 1306 of the ion channels 1208 are aligned at equal angles α around the common position 1302, such that each angle α is approximately 60 degrees.

[0112] Furthermore, the width of each electrode 1210 included in the array of electrodes 1210 forming each ion channel 1208 decreases continuously along the ion channel 1208 (for example, from the electrode 1210 located adjacent to port 1204 to the electrode 1210 located adjacent to common position 1302). Thus, the width of each ion channel 1208 (for example, between the dashed lines 1304) decreases along the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208 in the direction from port 1204 toward common position 1302. However, the electrodes 1210 are not limited to this configuration. For example, the width of the electrode 1210 may continue along the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208, and / or the width of the electrode 1210 in the ion channel 1208 located toward port 1204 may continue, while the width of the electrode 1210 in the ion channel 1208 located toward common position 1302 may decrease. Additionally or alternatively, gaps may be provided between the electrodes 1210 of different ion channels 1208.

[0113] The array of electrodes 1210 is further arranged such that multiple ion channels 1208 are positioned to form a hexagonal shape relative to each other. The hexagonal shape formed by the ion channels 1208 corresponds to the hexagonal shape of the surface 1702, although in some other examples the ion channels 1208 may form the hexagonal shape on a surface 1702 having a different shape (e.g., square, rectangle, etc.). The array of electrodes 1210 of ion channels 1208 is oriented around a common position 1302 such that each ion channel 1208 forms a radial segment within the hexagonal shape formed by the ion channels 1208.

[0114] The illustrated example further shows each port electrode 1206 positioned on the edge 1308 of the surface 1702 in a hexagonal configuration. When surface 1702 is positioned relative to another opposing surface 1702, the port electrodes 1206 receive a DC voltage and can selectively operate each port 1204 as an inlet port, outlet port, or closed port, and the electrodes 1210 of the ion channel 1208 can receive a voltage to guide ions from the port 1204 operating as an inlet port to the port 1204 operating as an outlet port. Thus, an ion router 1200 incorporating a pair of opposing surfaces 1702 can receive and / or discharge ions at any of the six ports 1204.

[0115] As another example, Figure 18 shows a rectangular configuration 1800 of electrode 1210 on surface 1802. Surface 1802 may mount a first surface 1202-1 and / or a second surface 1202-2 of the ion router 1200. For example, port electrodes 1206 and 1210 on surface 1802 may be aligned with port electrodes 1206 and 1210 on another opposing surface 1802 to form ports 1204 and channels 1208 between them. In Figure 18, surface 1802 includes four edges 1308 that form a rectangular shape. Port electrode 1206 extends along the three edges 1308 so as to form three ports 1204 when surface 1802 is positioned relative to an opposing surface 1802. Furthermore, the three arrays of electrodes 1210 extend from each port electrode 1206 toward a common position 1302, forming three ion channels 1208 when the surfaces 1802 are positioned toward opposing surfaces 1802.

[0116] The guard electrode 1804 is further positioned to extend along the fourth edge 1308-4 of the surface 1802 and is configured to receive a voltage (e.g., DC trap voltage and / or RF trap voltage) to bias ions away from the fourth edge 1308-4. In the illustrated example, the guard electrode 1804 extends along the side of the first port 1204-1, the first ion channel 1208-1, the common position 1302, the third ion channel 1208-3, and the third port 1204-3. Therefore, the guard electrode 1804 forms a lateral boundary between the first port 1204-1, the first ion channel 1208-1, the common position 1302, the third ion channel 1208-3, and the third port 1204-3, helping to confine the ions within the first port 1204-1, the first ion channel 1208-1, the common position 1302, the third ion channel 1208-3, and the third port 1204-3.

[0117] Furthermore, the width of each electrode 1210 included in the array of electrodes 1210 forming each ion channel 1208 decreases continuously along the ion channel 1208 (for example, from the electrode 1210 located adjacent to port 1204 to the electrode 1210 located adjacent to common position 1302). Thus, the width of each ion channel 1208 (for example, between the dashed lines 1304) decreases along the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208 in the direction from port 1204 toward common position 1302. However, the electrodes 1210 are not limited to this configuration. For example, the width of the electrode 1210 may continue along the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208, and / or the width of the electrode 1210 in the ion channel 1208 located toward port 1204 may continue, while the width of the electrode 1210 in the ion channel 1208 located toward common position 1302 may decrease. Additionally or alternatively, gaps may be provided between the electrodes 1210 of different ion channels 1208.

[0118] The array of electrodes 1210 is further arranged such that multiple ion channels 1208 are positioned to form a rectangular shape relative to each other. The rectangular shape formed by the ion channels 1208 corresponds to the rectangular shape of the surface 1802, although in some other examples the ion channels 1208 may form a rectangular shape on a surface 1802 having a different shape (e.g., a square). The array of electrodes 1210 of ion channels 1208 is further oriented around a common position 1302 such that each ion channel 1208 forms a radial segment within the rectangular shape formed by the ion channels 1208. In the illustrated example, the common position 1302 is located at the edge 1308-4 of the surface 1802, rather than in the central part. In this configuration, the second port 1204-2 is wider than the first port 1204-1 and the third port 1204-3, and the second ion channel 1208-2 is wider than the first ion channel 1208-1 and the third ion channel 1208-3.

[0119] The illustrated example further shows each port electrode 1206 positioned on the edge 1308 of the surface 1802 in a rectangular configuration. When surface 1802 is positioned relative to another opposing surface 1802, the port electrodes 1206 receive a DC voltage and can selectively operate each port 1204 as an inlet port, outlet port, or closed port, and the electrode 1210 of the ion channel 1208 can receive a voltage to guide ions from the port 1204 operating as an inlet port to the port 1204 operating as an outlet port. Thus, an ion router 1200 incorporating a pair of opposing surfaces 1802 can receive and / or discharge ions at any of the three ports 1204.

[0120] Figure 19 shows another exemplary configuration 1900 of port electrodes 1206 and 1210 on the first surface 1202-1, further comprising auxiliary guard electrodes 1902 (e.g., guard electrodes 1902-1 to 1902-2) at the first port 1204-1 and extending along a portion of the associated first ion channel 1208-1. As shown, each guard electrode 1902 is positioned in the ion channel 1208-1 toward a common position 1302 at each side of the first port 1204-1 on the first surface 1202-1 (e.g., opposite the axis 1306-1). Each guard electrode 1902 is configured to receive a voltage (e.g., a DC trap voltage and / or an RF trap voltage) to generate a force for confining ions within the first port 1204-1 and the first ion channel 1208-1 (e.g., toward the axis 1306-1 of the ion channel 1208-1). Therefore, the guard electrode 1902 can prevent the flow of ions in the ion channel 1208 from spreading outward away from the axis 1306-1 of the first ion channel 1208-1.

[0121] Figure 19 shows guard electrodes 1902 positioned along a first port 1204-1 and a first ion channel 1208-1, although guard electrodes 1902 may be positioned within any preferred number and / or configuration of ports 1204 and / or ion channels 1208. For example, guard electrodes 1902 may be positioned along any port 1204 that operates selectively as an inlet or outlet port, and / or along any ion channel 1208 associated with a port 1204 that operates selectively as an inlet or outlet port. Such an arrangement of guard electrodes 1902 can prevent the spreading of ion flow near the inlet or outlet port, which may allow the width of the ion flow (e.g., lateral to the axis 1306 of the ion channel 1208) to correspond to the width of another optical element configured to receive and / or transmit ions to the ion router 1200 (e.g., without using an ion funnel). Additionally or alternatively, guard electrodes 1902 may be positioned between each of the ion channels 1208 and along the length of each ion channel 1208 from port 1204 to common position 1302, to confine ions within each ion channel 1208 and prevent ions from flowing between the ion channels 1208 before the common position 1302.

[0122] Figures 20 to 21B show another exemplary configuration of the ion router 1200, further including a plurality of supports 2002 (e.g., supports 2002-1 to 2002-4). The supports 2002 are configured to extend between a pair of opposing surfaces (e.g., surface 1202) on which the port electrodes 1206 and 1210 are located, thereby maintaining the space between the pair of opposing surfaces. The pair of opposing surfaces are omitted from the ion router 2000 shown in Figures 20 to 21B for illustrative purposes. As shown, the supports 2002 are positioned between each port 1204 (e.g., between each port electrode 1206) at the corners of the polygonal shape formed by the ion channels 1208. In some examples, the supports 2002 are configured to receive one or more voltages (e.g., DC trap voltage and / or RF trap voltage) to generate a force that confines ions within the ports 1204 and prevents the flow of ions from escaping between the ports 1204. For example, in the case of positive ions, the support 2002 can receive a DC voltage greater than the voltage supplied at the inlet port. In some examples, the support 2002 is configured to receive voltage independently of the port electrodes 1206 and 1210. Furthermore, the support 2002 may be configured to receive the same voltage, or the support 2002 may be configured to receive voltage independently of other support 2002s. The ion router 2000 further includes an electrode 2004 located at a common position 1302 that can independently receive a voltage (e.g., a DC voltage) to provide additional flexibility when providing a DC gradient between ports 1204 to guide ions from port 1204 acting as an inlet port to port 1204 acting as an outlet port.

[0123] As an exemplary example of positive ions, the first port electrode 1206-1 may be configured to receive a first DC voltage (e.g., 2 volts (V)) to operate the first port 1204-1 as an inlet port. The second port electrode 1206-2 may be configured to receive a second DC voltage (e.g., -2V) lower than the first DC voltage to operate the second port 1204-2 as an outlet port. To operate the third port 1204-3 and the fourth port 1204-4 as closed ports, the third port electrode 1206-3 may be configured to receive a third DC voltage (e.g., 2V), and the fourth port electrode 1206-4 may be configured to receive a fourth DC voltage (e.g., 2V) greater than or equal to the first DC voltage (e.g., the voltage applied to the inlet port). If the third DC voltage and / or the fourth DC voltage is equal to the first DC voltage, the ion router 2000 may be configured to receive additional ions at the third port 1204-3 and / or the fourth port 1204-4. Alternatively, if the third DC voltage and / or the fourth DC voltage is equal to the second DC voltage, the ion router 2000 may be configured to discharge additional ions at the third port 1204-3 and / or the fourth port 1204-4.

[0124] In some examples, the electrode 2004 at common position 1302 may be configured to receive a fifth DC voltage (e.g., lower than the voltage applied to the inlet port and higher than the voltage applied to the outlet port) to guide ions from the inlet port to the outlet port. In some examples, the support 2002 may be configured to receive a sixth DC voltage (e.g., 2V) which is greater than or equal to the first DC voltage (e.g., the voltage applied to the inlet port) to prevent ions from leaving the ion router 2000 in the support 2002.

[0125] Figures 22–23B show another exemplary configuration of the ion router 1200, further including lenses 2202 (e.g., lenses 2202-1 to 2202-4) positioned outside each port 1204 of each ion channel 1208. As shown, each lens 2202 forms a lens opening 2204 (e.g., lens openings 2204-1 to 2204-4) aligned with each opening of the port 1204 to allow ions to flow into their respective ports 1204 through each lens 2202. Each lens 2202 is configured to receive one or more DC voltages in addition to, or instead of, the port electrodes 1206, to selectively operate each port 1204 as an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port. For example, in the case of positive ions, a lens 2202 associated with port 1204 acting as an inlet port may receive a first DC voltage (e.g., configured to allow ion flow through lens aperture 2204 into the inlet port), another lens 2202 associated with port 1204 acting as an outlet port may receive a second DC voltage lower than the first DC voltage (e.g., configured to allow ion flow out of the outlet port through lens aperture 2204), and / or another lens 2202 associated with port 1204 acting as a closure port may receive a third DC voltage higher than the first DC voltage (e.g., to prevent ions from flowing through the closure port and lens aperture 2204). Thus, each lens 2202 may be configured to receive a DC voltage independently, causing each lens 2202 to operate individually relative to the others. In some examples, the voltage applied to the lens 2202 can be adjusted to focus or defocus the ion beam flowing through the lens aperture 2204, for example, to reduce or increase the size of the ion beam delivered to the ion router 2200. Furthermore, the lens 2202 may be included in addition to, or instead of, the port electrode 1206.In some cases, lens 2202 is located on port 1204 of an ion router 2200 that is in use (for example, port 1204 connected to another device) and not on port 1204 of an ion router 2200 that is not in use (for example, port 1204 not connected to another device).

[0126] Figure 24 shows an exemplary configuration 2400 of a mass spectrometry system incorporating an ion router (e.g., ion router 1200, 2000, or 2200) according to the principles described herein. As shown in the figure, the mass spectrometry system 2400 is configured to receive ions (e.g., from an ion source) in an ion funnel 2402, which is configured to guide ions inward toward the central axis of the ion funnel 2402 as ions flow through the ion funnel 2402 toward the ion guide 2404. In the example of Figure 24, the ion funnel 2402 is depicted as a funnel. However, the funnel is merely optional, as any one or more additional and / or alternative devices and / or ion optics may be used to guide ions toward the ion guide 2404.

[0127] The ion guide 2404 can be implemented by any suitable ion guide and is configured to guide ions from the funnel 2402 to the accumulator 2406. In some examples, the ion guide 2404 is configured to filter the ions received from the funnel 2402 (for example, based on m / z). The accumulator 2406 is configured to accumulate and store the ions received from the ion guide 2404. The outlet of the accumulator 2406 is aligned with the first port 1204-1 of the ion router 2000. Thus, the first port 1204-1 can receive a first DC voltage (for example, at the first port electrode 1206-1) and operate as an inlet port, receiving ions from the accumulator 2406 through the first port 1204-1.

[0128] When ions are received from the accumulator 2406 to the first port 1204-1, the ion router 2000 may be configured to route the ions from the first port 1204-1 to the second port 1204-2, which acts as an exit port. For example, in the case of positive ions, the second port 1204-2 may be configured to receive a second DC voltage (e.g., at the second port electrode 1206-2) to cause the second port 1204-2 to act as an exit port (for example, when a first DC voltage is applied to the first port 1204-1 and a second DC voltage is applied to the second port 1204-2, the ion router 2000 is configured to guide the ions from the first port 1204-1 through the first ion channel 1208-1 toward the common position 1302 and through the second ion channel 1208-2 toward the second port 1204-2). In the example in Figure 24, the second port 1204-2 is oriented at approximately 90 degrees relative to the first port 1204-1, so that ions routed from the first port 1204-1 to the second port 1204-2, as indicated by the first ion orbital 2408-1, are redirected by approximately 90 degrees to the second port 1204-2 within the ion router 2000. While ions are being routed from the first port 1204-1 to the second port 1204-2 by the ion router 2000, the third port 1204-3 and the fourth port 1204-4 are configured to receive a DC voltage to cause the third port 1204-3 and the fourth port 1204-4 to operate as closed ports.

[0129] In the example in Figure 24, the ion sorter 2410 is positioned at the second port 1204-2 such that ions exiting the ion router 2000 at the second port 1204-2 enter the ion sorter 2410. The ion sorter 2410 may be implemented by an ion guide (e.g., ion guide 100) configured to spatially separate ions (e.g., according to m / z), as described above. After the ions have been sorted within the ion sorter 2410, the second port 1204-2 of the ion router 2000 may be selectively switched from operation as an exit port to operation as an inlet port by adjusting (e.g., increasing) the DC voltage received by the second port 1204-2. Thus, the second port 1204-2 may then be configured to receive ions separated by the ion sorter 2410. Furthermore, the third port 1204-3 can be selectively switched from a closed port to an exit port by adjusting (e.g., reducing) the DC voltage received by the third port 1204-3 so that it operates as an exit port (for example, the ion router 2000 is configured to guide ions from the second port 1204-2 towards the common position 1302 through the second ion channel 1208-2 and to the third port 1204-3 through the third ion channel 1208-3). In the example in Figure 24, the third port 1204-3 is oriented at approximately 90 degrees relative to the second port 1204-2, so that ions routed from the second port 1204-2 to the third port 1204-3, as indicated by the second ion orbital 2408-2, are redirected by approximately 90 degrees to the third port 1204-3 within the ion router 2000.

[0130] Ions exiting the ion router 2000 at the third port 1204-3 can be directed to the mass spectrometer 2412 for mass spectrometry. For example, ions exiting the third port 1204-3 can be directed to the mass spectrometer 2412 by another ion funnel 2414 and / or ion guide 2416 located at the third port 1204-3, so that ions exiting the ion router 2000 at the third port 1204-3 enter the ion funnel 2414 and / or ion guide 2416 and direct the ions to the mass spectrometer 2412. However, the ion funnel 2414 and / or ion guide 2416 are merely optional, and any one or more additional and / or alternative devices and / or ion optics can be used to guide ions to the mass spectrometer 2412.

[0131] The mass spectrometer 2412 may be configured to separate ions according to m / z and / or to perform mass analysis of ions received from the ion router 2000. In some examples, the mass spectrometer 2412 may be implemented by any suitable mass spectrometer, such as a quadrupole mass filter, an ion trap (e.g., a three-dimensional quadrupole ion trap, a cylindrical ion trap, a linear quadrupole ion trap, a toroidal ion trap, etc.), a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer, an electrostatic trap mass spectrometer (e.g., an orbital electrostatic trap such as an Orbitrap mass spectrometer, a Kingdon trap, or an electrostatic linear ion trap), a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer, or a sector mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer 2412 may also be included in a mass spectrometer (not shown), which may further include any additional or alternative components not shown (e.g., ion optics, filters, lenses, ion storage, autosampler, detector, impact cell, etc.) to suit a particular implementation.

[0132] While ions are being routed by the ion router 2000 from the second port 1204-2 to the third port 1204-3, the fourth port 1204-4 may continue to receive a DC voltage to operate as a closed port. The first port 1204-1 may also continue to receive a first DC voltage to operate as an inlet port. Alternatively, the DC voltage received by the first port 1204-1 may be adjusted (e.g., increased) to operate as a closed port. If the first port 1204-1 is continuously operating as an inlet port, it may be configured to continuously receive a DC voltage to operate as an inlet port without selectively switching the first port 1204-1 to a closed port and / or an outlet port.

[0133] Alternatively, the ion router 2000 may be configured to route ions from the accumulator 2406 to the mass spectrometer 2412, bypassing the ion sorter 2410. In such a configuration, the first port 1204-1 receives a first DC voltage (for example, at the first port electrode 1206-1), causing the first port 1204-1 to operate as an inlet port and receive ions from the accumulator 2406 through the first port 1204-1. Once ions are received from the accumulator 2406 to the first port 1204-1, the ion router 2000 may be configured to route the ions from the first port 1204-1 to a third port 1204-3, which operates as an outlet port. For example, in the case of positive ions, the third port 1204-3 may be configured to receive a DC voltage (for example, at the third port electrode 1206-3) and operate as an exit port (for example, when a first DC voltage is applied to the first port 1204-1 and a second DC voltage is applied to the third port 1204-3, the ion router 2000 is configured to guide ions from the first port 1204-1 towards the common position 1302 through the first ion channel 1208-1 and to the third port 1204-3 through the third ion channel 1208-3). In the example in Figure 24, the third port 1204-3 is oriented approximately 180 degrees relative to the first port 1204-1, so that ions routed from the first port 1204-1 to the third port 1204-3 flow straight through the ion router 2000 to the third port 1204-3, as indicated by the third ion orbital 2408-3. While ions are being routed from the first port 1204-1 to the third port 1204-3 by the ion router 2000, the second port 1204-2 and the fourth port 1204-4 may be configured to receive a DC voltage to cause the second port 1204-2 and the fourth port 1204-4 to operate as closed ports.

[0134] In some examples, the ion router 2000 may be configured to receive ions from the accumulator 2406 in a first port 1204-1, route the ions along a first ion orbit 2408-1 from the first port 1204-1 to a second port 1204-2, and discharge the ions to the ion sorter 2410. The ion router 2000 may then be configured to receive ions from the ion sorter 2410 in a second port 1204-2, route the ions along a second ion orbit 2408-2 from the second port 1204-2 to a third port 1204-3, and guide the ions toward the mass spectrometer 2412 for mass spectrometry. The ion router 2000 may further be configured to receive ions contained in the second sample from the accumulator 2406 at a first port 1204-1, route the ions along a third ion orbit 2408-3 from the first port 1204-1 to the third port 1204-3, bypass the ion sorter 2410, and guide the ions toward the mass spectrometer 2412 for mass spectrometry. In some examples, the passage of ions from the second sample from the first port 1204-1 to the third port 1204-3 can be performed while the ions of the first sample are being sorted in the ion sorter 2410. Such a configuration can increase the duty cycle of the analysis by enabling continuous operation of the mass spectrometer 2412 (i.e., analysis of ions from the second sample while ions from the first sample are being sorted), while also enabling the resolution and scheduling improvements provided by the ion sorter 2410. Further preferred configurations for the mass spectrometry system 2400 may be used to suit specific implementation forms. For example, any preferred component of the mass spectrometry system 2400 may be placed on any port 1204 of the ion router 2000 to route ions from any component of the mass spectrometry system 2400 to any other component of the mass spectrometry system 2400. Furthermore, any other preferred ion router described herein may be used instead of the ion router 2000.

[0135] Various modifications can be made to the apparatus described herein. In some examples, the port electrodes 1206 and / or electrodes 1210 arranged on the first surface 1202-1 have a different configuration from the port electrodes 1206 and / or electrodes 1210 arranged on the second surface 1202-2.

[0136] In some examples, the port electrodes 1206 and / or electrodes 1210 arranged on the first surface 1202-1 and / or the second surface 1202-2 include combinations of different electrode shapes or configurations. For example, the port electrodes 1206 and / or electrodes 1210 arranged on the first surface 1202-1 and / or the second surface 1202-2 may include any combination of V-shaped electrodes or U-shaped electrodes.

[0137] In the example described above, the port electrodes 1206 and / or electrode 1210 are rectangular. However, the port electrodes 1206 and / or electrode 1210 may have any other shape (e.g., rounded, elliptical, irregular, etc.) that can be adapted to a particular mounting configuration.

[0138] In the example described above, the electrodes 1210 are arranged to form a linear ion path and / or ion channel 1208. In other examples, the electrodes 1210 are arranged to form a nonlinear ion path and / or ion channel 1208. For example, the ion path and / or ion channel 1208 may include one or more bends, turns, curves, and / or angles. Furthermore, the ion routers described herein may include multiple ion paths and one or more common positions 1302 with other ion paths.

[0139] In the example described above, the electrodes 1210 are arranged on a flat surface 1202. In other examples, the electrodes 1210 are arranged on a non-planar surface (e.g., surface 1202 may be angled or inclined) such that the ion channels 1208 converge in two dimensions toward a common position 1302. For example, the depth of one or more ion channels 1208 may increase and / or decrease along the axis 1306 toward the common position 1302. In some examples, ion channels 1208 associated with an inlet port and / or a closed port have a depth that increases from the port electrode 1206 toward the common position 1302 (e.g., the common position 1302 is located lower than the port electrode 1206), and ion channels 1208 associated with an outlet port have a depth that further increases from the common position 1302 toward the port electrode 1206 (e.g., the port electrode 1206 is located lower than the common position 1302).

[0140] In some examples, any one or more of the ports 1204 and / or ion channels 1208 are formed by a stacked ring ion guide.

[0141] Figure 25 shows a flow chart of an exemplary method 2500 for inducing ions. Figure 25 shows an exemplary operation by example, but other examples may omit, add, rearrange, and / or modify one or more operations of method 2500 shown in Figure 25. Each operation of method 2500 shown in Figure 25 may be performed in any manner described herein.

[0142] In operation 2502, a first DC voltage is applied to a first port electrode 1206-1 associated with a first port 1204-1 contained within an ion router (e.g., ion router 1200, ion router 2000, or ion router 2200) configured as described herein. The ion router includes a pair of opposing surfaces 1202, at least three ports 1204, and a plurality of ion channels 1208. The first DC voltage applied to the first port electrode 1206-1 is configured to selectively operate the first port 1204-1 as an inlet port where ions are received by the ion router, an outlet port where ions exit the ion router, or a closed port where ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router. The plurality of ion channels are defined by an array of electrodes 1210 coupled to a pair of opposing surfaces and configured to receive one or more voltages to guide ions from a port selectively operating as an inlet port to a port selectively operating as an outlet port. In some examples, multiple ion channels converge toward a common position 1302 within the ion router and / or form a polygonal shape such that each ion channel is a radial segment within the polygonal shape.

[0143] In operation 2504, a second DC voltage is applied to a second port electrode 1206-2 associated with a second port 1204-2 of the ion router, causing the second port to operate selectively as an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port.

[0144] In operation 2506, a third DC voltage is applied to a third port electrode 1206-3 associated with a third port 1204-3 of the ion router, causing the third port to operate selectively as an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port.

[0145] In operation 2508, ions are introduced into the ion router and guided from a port acting as an inlet port to a port acting as an outlet port. In an exemplary example, a first DC voltage may be applied to a first port electrode 1206-1 to cause the first port 1204-1 to act as an inlet port, a second DC voltage may be applied to a second port electrode 1206-2 to cause the second port 1204-2 to act as an outlet port, and a third DC voltage may be applied to a third port electrode 1206-3 to cause the third port 1204-3 to act as a closed port. In such a configuration, once ions are introduced into the ion router, the ion router can guide the ions received at the first port 1204-1 to the second port 1204-2, where it can discharge the ions. For example, ions can be guided from a first port 1204-1 to a second port 1204-2 by multiple ion channels 1208.

[0146] In some examples, one or more of the first, second, or third DC voltages may be adjusted to switch one or more of the first, second, or third ports to either an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port. In some examples, the first, second, and third DC voltages may be applied to selectively operate multiple ports of the ion router as inlet ports, multiple ports of the ion router as outlet ports, and / or multiple ports of the ion router as closed ports. In some examples, at least one port of the ion router is designated as an inlet port, and at least two other ports are configured to operate selectively as either outlet ports or closed ports.

[0147] In the above description, various exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the scope of the invention as described in the following claims. For example, certain features of one embodiment described herein may be combined with or replaced by features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, this specification and the drawings should be considered in an exemplary sense, not in an restrictive sense.

[0148] The advantages and features of this disclosure can be further illustrated by the following embodiments.

[0149] Example 1. An ion router comprising a pair of opposing surfaces, and at least three ports, each of which comprises at least three ports defining an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, at least one of which comprises at least three ports configured as an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, and at least two of which comprises at least three ports configured to selectively operate as either an outlet port through which ions exit the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router, and a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces and configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from the ports configured as inlet ports to the ports that selectively operate as outlet ports, and converging toward a common location within the ion router.

[0150] Example 2. The ion router according to Example 1, further comprising one or more electrodes located in common positions and configured to receive one or more DC voltages to guide ions from an ion channel associated with a port configured as an inlet port to another ion channel associated with a port that operates selectively as an outlet port.

[0151] Example 3. The ion router according to Example 1, wherein multiple ion channels are arranged relative to each other to form a polygonal shape.

[0152] Example 4. The ion router according to Example 3, wherein the polygon shape includes one of a triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, or hexagon.

[0153] Example 5. The ion router according to Example 3, wherein each ion channel contained in the plurality of ion channels forms a radial segment within a polygonal shape.

[0154] Example 6. The ion router according to Example 1, wherein each ion channel included in the plurality of ion channels is connected to ports included in at least three ports, allowing ions to flow from the ion channels to the ports or from the ports to the ion channels.

[0155] Example 7. An ion router according to Example 6, wherein each ion channel included in the plurality of ion channels has a width that decreases along the axis of the ion channel from the port.

[0156] Example 8. The ion router according to Example 1, wherein each of the at least three ports is located on the edge of a pair of opposing surfaces.

[0157] Example 9. The ion router according to Example 1, wherein at least two ports are configured to operate selectively to switch between exit ports and closed ports during operation of the ion router.

[0158] Example 10. The ion router according to Example 1, wherein each of the at least three ports is configured to operate selectively as either an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port.

[0159] Example 11. The ion router according to Example 10, wherein at least three ports each include port electrodes configured to receive one or more direct current (DC) voltages and to selectively operate each port as an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port.

[0160] Example 12. An ion router according to Example 11, wherein the first port includes a first port electrode configured to receive a first DC voltage and selectively operate the first port as a closed port, the second port includes a second port electrode configured to receive a second DC voltage lower than the first DC voltage and selectively operate the second port as an inlet port, and the third port includes a third port electrode configured to receive a third DC voltage lower than the second DC voltage and selectively operate the third port as an outlet port.

[0161] Example 13. The ion router according to Example 11, further comprising one or more voltage dividers configured to provide a DC gradient to the common location of the multiple ion channels from at least three ports.

[0162] Example 14. The ion router according to Example 10, wherein at least three ports each include a lens configured to receive one or more DC voltages and to selectively operate each port as an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port.

[0163] Example 15. The ion router according to Example 14, wherein the lens is positioned at the opening of each port and includes a lens opening aligned with the opening of each port.

[0164] Example 16. The ion router according to Example 10, wherein multiple ports out of at least three ports are selectively operated simultaneously as inlet ports.

[0165] Example 17. The ion router according to Example 1, wherein each ion channel included in the plurality of ion channels is connected to ports included in at least three ports, allowing ions to flow from the ion channels to the ports or from the ports to the ion channels.

[0166] Example 18. An ion router according to Example 1, wherein the array of electrodes for multiple ion channels includes a first set of electrodes arranged along the axis of each ion channel and configured to receive a first RF voltage, a second set of electrodes arranged along the axis of each ion channel in an alternating pattern with the first set of electrodes and configured to receive a second RF voltage, and a third set of electrodes arranged along the axis of each ion channel in an alternating pattern with the first set of electrodes and the second set of electrodes and configured to receive a third RF voltage, wherein when the first set of electrodes receives a first RF voltage, the second set of electrodes receives a second RF voltage, and the third set of electrodes receives a third RF voltage, the first set of electrodes, the second set of electrodes, and the third set of electrodes apply a traveling wave pseudopotential along the axis of each channel to induce ions along the axis.

[0167] Example 19. The ion router according to Example 1, wherein the ion channels included in a plurality of ion channels and associated with a port configured as an inlet or outlet port further include one or more guard electrodes positioned along the axis of the ion channel, the one or more guard electrodes being configured to receive one or more DC voltages to prevent the flow of ions from spreading outward along the axis of the ion channel.

[0168] Example 20. The ion router according to Example 1, further comprising guard electrodes extending longitudinally along the edges of one or more ion channels contained in a plurality of ion channels, wherein the guard electrodes are configured to receive one or more DC voltages to prevent ions from laterally exiting one or more ion channels.

[0169] Example 21. The ion router according to Example 1, further comprising a plurality of supports for maintaining space between a pair of opposing surfaces, each support positioned between at least three ports and extending between the pair of opposing surfaces.

[0170] Example 22. The ion router according to Example 21, wherein each support is configured to receive one or more DC voltages to prevent ion flow from exiting between at least three ports.

[0171] Example 23. An ion router comprising a pair of opposing surfaces, at least three ports, each of the at least three ports defining an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, and at least one of the at least three ports being configured to selectively operate as one of the following: an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, an outlet port through which ions are exited from the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router, and a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces and configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from a port operating as an inlet port to a port operating as an outlet port.

[0172] Example 24. A system comprising an ion router having a pair of opposing surfaces and at least three ports, each of the at least three ports defining an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, and each of the at least three ports being configured to operate selectively as either an inlet port through which ions are received into the ion router, an outlet port through which ions are exited from the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router; and a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces and configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from a port operating as an inlet port to a port operating as an outlet port; and an ion sorter coupled to a first port of the at least three ports, wherein the ion router is configured to transmit ions to the ion sorter when the first port is selectively operated as an outlet port, and to receive ions from the ion sorter when the first port is selectively operated as an inlet port.

[0173] Example 25. The system as in Example 24, wherein the first port is selectively switched from operating as an outlet port to operating as an inlet port after ions have been transmitted to an ion sorter.

[0174] Example 26. The system according to Example 24, wherein a second port, included in at least three ports, is coupled to a mass spectrometer for performing ion mass spectrometry, and the ion router is configured to transmit ions to the mass spectrometer when the second port is selectively operated as an exit port.

[0175] Example 27. The system according to Example 26, wherein the second port is selectively operated as a closed port when the first port is selectively operated as an exit port.

[0176] Example 28. The system according to Example 26, further comprising an accumulator configured to store ions and coupled to a third port included in at least three ports, wherein the ion router is configured to receive ions from the accumulator when the third port is selectively operated as an inlet port.

[0177] Example 29. The system according to Example 28, wherein the ion router is configured to allow ions to bypass the ion sorter when the first port is selectively operated as a closed port, the second port is selectively operated as an exit port, and the third port is selectively operated as an inlet port.

[0178] Example 30. A method for operating an ion router involves applying a first direct current (DC) voltage to a first port electrode associated with a first port to selectively operate the first port as an inlet port through which ions pass and are received by the ion router, an outlet port through which ions pass and exit the ion router, or a closed port through which ions pass but are neither received nor discharged by the ion router, and applying a second DC voltage to a second port electrode associated with a second port to operate the second port as an inlet port through which ions pass and are received by the ion router, an outlet port through which ions pass and exit the ion router, or an ion router. The method includes: selectively operating the third port as a closed port through which ions cannot be accepted or discharged by the ion router; applying a third DC voltage to a third port electrode associated with the third port to selectively operate the third port as an inlet port through which ions can be accepted by the ion router, an outlet port through which ions can be discharged from the ion router, or a closed port through which ions cannot be accepted or discharged by the ion router; and introducing ions into the port operating as an inlet port and guiding ions from the port operating as an inlet port to the port operating as an outlet port.

[0179] Example 31. The method of Example 30, further comprising adjusting one or more of the first DC voltage, second DC voltage, or third DC voltage to switch one or more of the first port, second port, or third port to another of the inlet port, outlet port, or closed port.

[0180] Example 32. The method of Example 30, further comprising applying a voltage to a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes in order to guide ions from a port acting as an inlet port to a port acting as an outlet port.

[0181] Example 33. An ion router according to Example 11, wherein the first port includes a first port electrode configured to receive a first DC voltage and selectively operate the first port as a closed port, the second port includes a second port electrode configured to receive a second DC voltage higher than the first DC voltage and selectively operate the second port as an inlet port, and the third port includes a third port electrode configured to receive a third DC voltage higher than the second DC voltage and selectively operate the third port as an outlet port.

Claims

1. It is an ion router, A pair of opposing surfaces, At least three ports, each of the at least three ports defining an opening between a pair of opposing surfaces, at least one of the at least three ports configured as an inlet port through which ions are received by the ion router, and at least two of the at least three ports configured to operate selectively as either outlet ports through which ions exit the ion router, or closed ports through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router, A plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces, configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from a port configured as an inlet port to a port that operates selectively as an outlet port, the plurality of ion channels converging toward a common location within the ion router, Ion router.

2. The ion router according to claim 1, further comprising electrodes positioned in the common location and configured to receive one or more DC voltages for inducing ions from an ion channel associated with a port configured as an inlet port to another ion channel associated with a port that operates selectively as an outlet port.

3. The ion router according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ion channels are arranged relative to each other to form a polygonal shape.

4. The ion router according to claim 3, wherein each ion channel included in the plurality of ion channels forms a radial segment within the polygonal shape.

5. The ion router according to claim 1, wherein each ion channel included in the plurality of ion channels has a width that decreases toward the common position from the ports included in the at least three ports.

6. The ion router according to claim 1, wherein the at least two ports are configured to operate selectively to switch between the exit port and the closed port during operation of the ion router.

7. The ion router according to claim 1, wherein each of the at least three ports is configured to operate selectively as one of an inlet port, an outlet port, or a closed port.

8. The ion router according to claim 7, wherein each of the at least three ports includes a port electrode, the port electrode is configured to receive one or more direct current (DC) voltages and to selectively operate each port as the inlet port, the outlet port, or the closed port.

9. The first port includes a first port electrode configured to receive a first DC voltage and to selectively operate the first port as the closed port, The second port includes a second port electrode configured to receive a second DC voltage lower than the first DC voltage, thereby selectively operating the second port as the inlet port. The third port includes a third port electrode configured to receive a third DC voltage lower than the second DC voltage, thereby selectively operating the third port as the output port. The ion router according to claim 8.

10. The ion router according to claim 8, further comprising one or more voltage dividers configured to provide a DC gradient from at least three ports to a common location of the plurality of ion channels.

11. The ion router according to claim 8, wherein each of the at least three ports includes a lens, the lens being configured to receive one or more DC voltages and to selectively operate each port as the inlet port, the outlet port, or the closed port.

12. The ion router according to claim 11, wherein the lens is positioned in the opening of each port and includes a lens opening aligned with the opening of each port.

13. The ion router according to claim 7, wherein multiple ports among the at least three ports are selectively operated simultaneously as inlet ports.

14. The ion router according to claim 1, wherein each ion channel included in the plurality of ion channels is connected to a port included in the at least three ports, enabling ions to flow from the ion channels to the ports or from the ports to the ion channels.

15. The array of electrodes for the plurality of ion channels is A plurality of first electrodes are arranged along the axis of each ion channel and configured to receive a first RF voltage, A second set of electrodes is arranged along the axis of each ion channel in an alternating pattern with the first set of electrodes and configured to receive a second RF voltage, The system includes a third set of electrodes arranged along the axis of each ion channel in an alternating pattern with the first set of electrodes and the second set of electrodes, and configured to receive a third RF voltage. When the first plurality of electrodes receive a first RF voltage, the second plurality of electrodes receive a second RF voltage, and the third plurality of electrodes receive a third RF voltage, the first plurality of electrodes, the second plurality of electrodes, and the third plurality of electrodes apply a traveling wave pseudopotential along the axis of each channel to induce ions along the axis. The ion router according to claim 1.

16. The ion router according to claim 1, wherein an ion channel included in the plurality of ion channels and associated with a port configured as an inlet port or an outlet port further includes one or more guard electrodes arranged along the axis of the ion channel, the one or more guard electrodes being configured to receive one or more DC voltages to prevent the flow of ions from spreading outward along the axis of the ion channel.

17. The ion router according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of supports for maintaining the space between the pair of opposing surfaces, each support positioned between each of the at least three ports and extending between the pair of opposing surfaces.

18. The ion router according to claim 17, wherein each support is configured to receive one or more DC voltages to prevent the flow of ions from exiting between the at least three ports.

19. It is an ion router, A pair of opposing surfaces, At least three ports, each of the at least three ports defining an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, and at least one of the at least three ports being configured to selectively operate as one of the following: an inlet port through which ions are received by the ion router, an outlet port through which ions are received from the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are not received or discharged by the ion router; The system comprises a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces, and configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from a port acting as an inlet port to a port acting as an outlet port. Ion router.

20. It is a system, It is an ion router, A pair of opposing surfaces, At least three ports, each of which comprises the at least three ports defines an opening between the pair of opposing surfaces, and each of which comprises the at least three ports is configured to operate selectively as either an inlet port through which ions are received by the ion router, an outlet port through which ions are returned from the ion router, or a closed port through which ions are neither received nor discharged by the ion router, The system comprises a plurality of ion channels defined by an array of electrodes coupled to the pair of surfaces, and configured to receive one or more voltages for guiding ions from a port acting as an inlet port to a port acting as an outlet port. Ion router and An ion sorter coupled to a first port included in the at least three ports, wherein the ion router is configured to transmit ions to the ion sorter when the first port is selectively operated as an exit port, and to receive ions from the ion sorter when the first port is selectively operated as an inlet port, system.

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