Surface coating to improve performance of ion trap mass spectrometers
AssigneeVarian Associates, Inc.
InventorsRobert D. Brittain, Mingda Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The interior surfaces of an ion trap or ionization chamber is coated with an inert, inorganic non-metallic insulator or semiconductor material for the passivation of such surfaces so as to minimize absorption, degradation or decomposition of a sample in contact with the surface.
Claims9
A system for analysis of a sample having constituents, said system comprising a detector having electrodes for defining an interior volume therein and for establishing desired electric fields within said detector interior volume, wherein said electrodes are exposed to said sample constituents and said electrodes comprise an electrical conducting material and an outer surface layer of an inert inorganic non-metallic material deposited on said electrodes.
An analytic instrument for chemical analysis of the constituents of a sample, said instrument comprising a detector for responding to ions comprising said constituents, said detector comprising electrodes supporting selected electric fields and said electrodes exposed to said ions, the improvement comprising a coating of an inert inorganic non-metallic material having a thickness which is less than an upper limit thickness selected to support a given areal charge density and which thickness is sufficient to achieve complete passivation of the underlying surface thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.