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US 2016/0111271 A1Published application
Time-of-flight mass spectrometer with spatial focusing of a broad mass range
OwnerSebastian BÖHMinventor
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OwnerSebastian BÖHMinventor
Estimating the term…
The invention relates to time-of-flight mass spectrometers which operate with pulsed ionization of superficially adsorbed analyte substances and with an improvement in the mass resolution by means of a time-delayed start of the ion acceleration; in particular with ion-accelerating voltages which change over time after a delayed start in order to obtain a constant mass resolution over broad mass ranges. Since the varying acceleration produces a broadening of the ion beam at right angles to the direction of flight, and this broadening increases with the ion mass, the invention proposes to compensate, to the desired extent, for the broadening of the ion beam with the aid of an additional ion-optical lens whose voltage is also varied over time. The invention also relates to measurement methods therefor.
A time-of-flight mass spectrometer having an ion source that operates with ionization of ions by matrix-assisted laser desorption, further having a power supply to delay the start of, and to vary, an accelerating voltage for the ions and an ion-optical lens for spatially focusing the resultant ion beam, wherein a power supply for the ion-optical lens supplies a variable voltage during the spectral acquisition.
A method for generating a narrow ion beam in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer having an ion source that operates with ionization of ions by matrix-assisted laser desorption, wherein, after ionization, the ions are accelerated onto a flight path with delay while varying an accelerating voltage over time, further comprising spatial focusing of the resultant ion beam by means of an ion-optical lens, wherein the ions are focused at right angles to the direction of flight as a function of the time of flight by means of temporal variation of the voltage applied to the ion-optical lens.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.