Ion interfaces and systems and methods using them
AssigneePerkinElmer Health Sciences Canada, Inc.
InventorsHamid Badiei, William Fisher, Serguei Savtchenko, Andrew Icasiano
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Abstract
Certain embodiments of ion interfaces are described that can provide higher sensitivities improved ion transmission and multiple operating modes. In some configurations, the ion interface may comprise a first element and a second element each of which can receive a non-zero voltage. In one configuration, the first element can be a hyperskimmer cone and the second element can be a cylindrical lens. Systems and methods using the interface are also described.
Claims20
An ion interface comprising:
- a first element comprising a first orifice configured to receive ions from an ionization source and provide the received ions to a first region downstream of the first orifice;
- a second element comprising a second orifice configured to receive the ions in the first region and provide the received ions to a second region downstream of the second orifice;
- a third element comprising a third orifice configured to receive the ions in the second region and provide the received ions to a third region downstream of the third orifice, wherein the third element is configured to receive a first non-zero voltage;
- and
- a fourth element comprising a first aperture configured to receive ions in the third region and focus the received ions prior to providing the focused, received ions to a downstream component, wherein the fourth element is configured to receive a second non-zero voltage.
A method of providing ions from an ionization source to a mass spectrometer component through a mass spectrometer interface, the method comprising:
- providing ions from an ionization source into a first vacuum region through a first orifice of an electrically coupled to ground first element of the mass spectrometer interface;
- providing ions in the first vacuum region to a second vacuum region through a second orifice of an electrically coupled to ground second element of the mass spectrometer interface, wherein a pressure of the second vacuum region is lower than a pressure of the first vacuum region;
- providing ions in the second vacuum region to a third vacuum region through a third orifice of a third element of the mass spectrometer interface, wherein a pressure of the third vacuum region is lower than a pressure of the second vacuum region, and wherein the third element comprises a first non-zero voltage;
- providing ions in the third vacuum region through a fourth element to the mass spectrometer component, wherein the fourth element comprises a second non-zero voltage and is configured to focus the provided ions prior to providing the focused ions to the mass spectrometer component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.