# US 2018/0025898 A1 · Time-of-Flight Analysis of a Continuous Beam of Ions by a Detector Array > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0025898 A1 - Document ID: US20180025898A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/713,416 - Filed: 2017-09-22 - Published: 2018-01-25 - Earliest claimed: 2013-12-31 - Assignees: DH Technologies Development Pte. Ltd. - Applicants: DH Technologies Development Pte. Ltd. - Inventors: Robert Alois Grothe, JR. - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180025898A1 ## CPC - H01J 49/40: Time-of-flight spectrometers (H01J49/36 takes precedence) - H01J 49/0031: {Step by step routines describing the use of the apparatus (H01J49/0081 takes precedence)} - H01J 49/025: {Detectors specially adapted to particle spectrometers (data acquisition H01J49/0036; detectors per se G01T, e.g. G01T1/28, G01T1/29)} - H01J 49/20: Magnetic deflection - H01J 49/22: Electrostatic deflection - H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H) ## Abstract Systems and methods are provided for time-of-flight analysis of a continuous beam of ions by a detector array. A sample is ionized using an ion source to produce a continuous beam of ions. An electric field is applied to the continuous beam of ions using an accelerator to produce an accelerated beam of ions. A rotating magnetic and/or electric field is applied to the accelerated beam to separate ions with different mass-to-charge ratios over an area of a two-dimensional detector using a deflector located between the accelerator and the two-dimensional detector. An arrival time and a two-dimensional arrival position of each ion of the accelerated beam are recorded using the two-dimensional detector. Alternatively, an electric field that is periodic with time is applied in order to sweep the accelerated beam over a periodically repeating path on the two-dimensional rectangular detector. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A time-of-flight mass (TOF) spectrometer for analyzing a continuous beam of ions that optimizes the utilization of the area of a rectangular detector, comprising: an ion source that ionizes a sample producing a continuous beam of ions; a mass filter that receives the continuous beam and admits ions with a desired range of mass-to-charge ratios and blocks ions outside the desired range producing a filtered beam of ions; an accelerator that receives the filtered beam and applies an electric field to the continuous beam of ions producing an accelerated beam of ions; a two-dimensional rectangular detector that records an arrival time and a two-dimensional arrival position of each ion in the accelerated beam; and a deflector located between the accelerator and the two-dimensional rectangular detector that receives the accelerated beam and applies an electric field that is periodic with time to the accelerated beam in order to sweep the accelerated beam over a periodically repeating path on the two-dimensional rectangular detector, wherein the repeat period is set to the difference in the times required for ions with the highest and lowest mass-to-charge ratios in the filtered beam to travel from the deflector to the two-dimensional rectangular detector and wherein the path has a maximum length among all paths that satisfies the following constraint: for any point x on the two-dimensional rectangular detector, the intersection between a circular region of diameter s centered about x and the path contains no more than one segment, where s denotes the diameter of the accelerated beam's cross section measured at the two-dimensional rectangular detector. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The TOF mass spectrometer of claim 1, wherein the path comprises a raster pattern. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The TOF mass spectrometer of claim 1, wherein the path comprises at least two parallel rows and each row is connected to an adjacent row by a semi-circular arc. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The TOF mass spectrometer of claim 1, further comprising a processor in communication with the accelerator, the deflector, and the two-dimensional detector that receives an arrival time and a two-dimensional arrival position for each ion impacting the two-dimensional rectangular detector and calculates a time-of-flight for each ion impacting the two-dimensional rectangular detector from the arrival time and the two-dimensional arrival position. ### Claim 5 A method for analyzing the time-of-flight of a continuous beam of ions that optimizes the utilization of the area of a rectangular detector, comprising: ionizing a sample using an ion source to produce a continuous beam of ions; admitting ions with a desired range of mass-to-charge ratios and blocking ions outside the desired range using a mass filter producing a filtered beam of ions; applying an electric field to the filtered beam producing an accelerated beam of ions; applying an electric field that is periodic with time to the accelerated beam in order to sweep the accelerated beam over a periodically repeating path on a two-dimensional rectangular detector using a deflector, wherein the repeat period is set to the difference in the times required for ions with the highest and lowest mass-to-charge ratios in the filtered beam to travel from the deflector to the two-dimensional rectangular detector and wherein the path has a maximum length among all paths that satisfies the following constraint: for any point x on the two-dimensional rectangular detector, the intersection between a circular region of diameter s centered about x and the path contains no more than one segment, where s denotes the diameter of the accelerated beam's cross section measured at the two-dimensional rectangular detector; and recording an arrival time and a two-dimensional arrival position of each ion in the accelerated beam using the two-dimensional rectangular detector.