Ion focusing member and mass spectrometer using the same

Abstract

An ion focusing member includes a ball having a surface with a plurality of dimples. The ion focusing member is adapted for being disposed in a mass spectrometer in a way that the ball is located at a spray path of analyte ions and located between a metal capillary and a mass analyzer. When the analyte ions pass through the ball, the analyte ions can be gathered at a downstream position of the ball, which in turn flow into the mass analyzer by a potential difference. Therefore, the ion focusing member of the present disclosure can effectively enhance the amount of the analyte ions entering into the mass analyzer, thereby improving ion transmission efficiency. As a result, a mass spectrometer equipped with the ion focusing member may have increased signal intensity of analyte, lowered limit of detection (LOD), and minimized detection error.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.