Micro-reflectron Resistive Wall for Mass Spectrometer Miniaturization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current time-of-flight mass spectrometers face challenges in miniaturization, with existing devices being bulky, expensive, and lacking in resolution and sensitivity, particularly due to difficulties in manufacturing miniature reflectrons that maintain a uniform electromagnetic field, leading to ion beam divergence and loss of analysis accuracy at micrometric scales.
Innovation Solution
A micro-reflectron is developed using micro-fabrication techniques, featuring a substrate with integrated polarization electrodes and a resistive wall made of materials like titanium nitride or amorphous silicon, which generates a continuous potential gradient, ensuring a homogeneous electric field and preventing ion beam divergence, thus enabling a compact and efficient mass spectrometer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If discrete electrodes are used to create the reflectron field, then the device can be manufactured with conventional techniques, but the electromagnetic field becomes non-uniform at micrometric scales causing ion beam divergence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/discrete electrode system with a continuous resistive wall structure. Instead of using separate electrodes that create discontinuous fields, a resistive material (such as amorphous silicon or titanium nitride) is deposited to form a continuous wall that generates a uniform electrostatic field through its volumetric resistance properties, eliminating field non-uniformity at micrometric scales
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures combining substrates with deposited resistive layers. The resistive wall is formed by depositing materials like amorphous silicon or titanium nitride onto substrate surfaces, creating a composite structure that maintains mechanical integrity while providing the necessary electrical resistance properties for field generation
2Volume of moving object
If the spectrometer is miniaturized for portability, then it becomes suitable for field applications, but resolution and sensitivity degrade due to ion loss
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous resistive wall structure enables miniaturization while maintaining field uniformity, allowing the reflectron to function effectively in compact geometries. This substitution eliminates the scaling problems that would otherwise cause ion beam divergence and loss in miniaturized devices
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of field generation from surface electrode potentials to volumetric resistive field distribution. This parameter change allows the electric field characteristics to be maintained independently of device size, enabling resolution and sensitivity to be preserved even as the spectrometer is miniaturized for portability
3Ease of manufacture
If discrete electrodes are used in a miniaturized device, then manufacturing is simplified, but ion beam divergence occurs due to field distortion at micrometric scales
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the discrete electrode mechanical system with a continuous resistive wall. This substitution eliminates the geometric discontinuities and edge effects that cause field distortion at micrometric scales, providing a uniformly distributed electrostatic field without the complexity of precise electrode positioning and alignment
Solution Approach 2:
The resistive wall material provides homogeneous field distribution throughout the reflectron volume. By using materials with uniform resistive properties (such as amorphous silicon or titanium nitride) and depositing them as continuous layers, the patent achieves homogeneous electric field generation that eliminates the field distortion and ion beam divergence problems associated with discrete electrode structures
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 micro-reflectron allows for a portable, autonomous, and cost-effective time-of-flight mass spectrometer with enhanced sensitivity and resolution, capable of analyzing a wide range of masses with improved ion trajectory control and reduced ion loss, suitable for real-time chemical analysis in various industrial and environmental monitoring applications.
Implementation Method 1
a wall made of at least one resistive material adapted to be polarized between these electrodes so as to generate a continuous gradient of potential by itself providing the reflectron function
Implementation Method 2
implements a static electric field to modify the direction of the trajectories of the charged particles
Implementation Method 3
The ionized species are injected with a certain speed into an electromagnetic field which can be fixed or variable over time and in space. The forces exerted on the ions then modify their trajectory according to their mass-to-charge ratio
Implementation Method 4
Such a mirror 40 is necessary to obtain a good resolution, in particular for devices of small dimensions in which the temporal and spatial dispersions cannot be neglected. It makes it possible on the one hand to compensate for the spatial dispersion of the ions linked to the geometric extent of the ion source 3
Data Source
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Figure 5~8
AI summary
The micro-reflectron has a potential gradient applying unit e.g. resistive layer (5400), for applying potential gradient in a substrate volume forming a flight zone of ions e.g. tube (3300), where the micro-reflectron has thickness less than 5 mm and other dimensions less than 10 times of the thickness. The unit comprises a wall made of resistive material, and is polarized between metallic polarization electrodes (5210) to generate a continuous potential gradient while providing reflectron function. The zone, the electrodes and the wall are obtained by microelectromechanical system technology. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a mass spectrometer (2) a fabrication method for a micro-reflectron.