Inclined Plate Ion Guide for High Uptake and Ion Focusing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ion guides face challenges in achieving both high ion uptake efficiency and high ion focusing efficiency, particularly due to limitations in miniaturization and electrode contamination, as well as disturbances in the electric field.
Innovation Solution
An ion guide design featuring plate electrodes stacked orthogonally with inclined surfaces and varying inclination start and end points, applying alternating or same-phase radio-frequency voltages to adjacent electrodes, which gradually reduces the number of poles to enhance ion transport and focusing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ring-shaped electrodes are stacked in the ion transport direction (ion funnel method), then ion focusing is achieved, but ions are likely to collide with the electrode surface causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The ion guide is divided into multiple stages with different numbers of poles (e.g., 12 poles at inlet, 8 poles in middle, 4 poles at outlet). This segmentation allows the system to provide strong focusing at the inlet while reducing ion-electrode interactions at downstream stages, thereby reducing contamination while maintaining focusing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimensional stacking of ring electrodes to a multi-dimensional plate electrode configuration where plates are arranged both radially and axially. This creates a three-dimensional electric field structure that improves ion guidance while reducing direct ion-electrode collisions.
2Productivity
If the number of electrodes is increased in multipole ion guide to improve ion uptake efficiency, then ion uptake efficiency improves, but device complexity and miniaturization difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The ion guide is segmented into multiple sections with decreasing numbers of poles along the ion transport direction. This allows the system to achieve high ion uptake efficiency at the inlet (with more poles) while reducing the number of electrodes in downstream sections, thereby lowering overall device complexity and enabling miniaturization.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the ion guide have different numbers of poles tailored to local requirements: the inlet section has more poles for high ion uptake, while downstream sections have fewer poles. This local optimization achieves high overall efficiency without requiring uniformly high electrode counts throughout the entire device.
3Reliability
If trapezoidal electrodes are arranged radially to achieve ion guidance, then ion transport is achieved, but further miniaturization to increase electrode number is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves from two-dimensional radial arrangement of trapezoidal electrodes to a three-dimensional configuration using stacked plate electrodes with varying orientations. This allows compact miniaturization while maintaining effective ion guidance through the layered plate structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple plate electrodes are nested within each other in a compact stacked arrangement, with each plate contributing to the multipole field. This nested structure achieves high electrode density in a small volume, enabling miniaturization while maintaining transport efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves both high ion uptake and focusing efficiency while minimizing electrode contamination and electric field disturbances, improving ion transmittance and reducing component costs.
Implementation Method 1
an ion guide method of focusing ions using a radio-frequency electric field formed by applying a radio-frequency voltage
Implementation Method 2
at least two plate electrodes, in the plurality of plate electrodes, are inclined plate electrodes having an inclined surface inclined with respect to the traveling direction
Data Source
AI summary
An ion guide and a mass spectrometer that has both high ion uptake efficiency and high ion focusing efficiency. In the ion guide, an ion travels in an internal space from an inlet side toward an outlet side. The ion guide includes plate electrodes stacked at intervals in a stacking direction orthogonal to a traveling direction in which the ion travels. At least two plate electrodes, are inclined plate electrodes having an inclined surface inclined with respect to the traveling direction in a part facing the internal space. Each of the inclined plate electrodes has an inclination start point at which the inclined surface starts on an end surface on the inlet side, and positions of the inclination start points in a direction orthogonal to both the traveling direction and the stacking direction are different for at least two of the inclined plate electrodes adjacent in the stacking direction.