Mass spectrometry via frequency tagging

A system comprising:

• a mass spectrometer comprising a single ion trap;
• and
• a central processing unit (CPU), and storage coupled to the CPU for storing instructions that when executed by the CPU cause the system to apply a plurality of scan functions to the single ion trap to excite a precursor and eject a product ion exactly when the precursor is fragmented, wherein the plurality of scan functions comprise a nonlinear AC frequency sweep at constant RF voltage while, simultaneously, the product ion of the precursor ion is ejected from the single ion trap using a time-varying broadband waveform, and wherein fragmentation time of the precursor ion correlates with ejection time of the product ion, allowing the relationship in time to be correlated to the precursor ion mass-to-charge.

A method for analyzing a sample, the method comprising:

• introducing a precursor ion of a sample into a mass spectrometer comprising a single ion trap;
• and
• analyzing the sample via the mass spectrometer that applies a plurality of scan functions to the single ion trap to fragment the precursor ion and simultaneously eject a product ion of the precursor ion in a manner that preserves in time a relationship of the precursor ion and the product ion, wherein the plurality of scan functions comprise a nonlinear AC frequency sweep at constant RF voltage while, simultaneously, the product ion of the precursor ion is ejected from the single ion trap using a time-varying broadband waveform, and wherein fragmentation time of the precursor ion correlates with ejection time of the product ion, allowing the relationship in time to be correlated to the precursor ion mass-to-charge.