Mass spectrometer
AssigneeMicromass Limited
InventorRobert H. Bateman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mass spectrometer is provided having a plurality of analyzers and including at least one magnetic sector analyzer and, typically, an orthogonal-acceleration time-of-flight mass analyzer. Bypass means are provided so that by switching of the direction of the ion beam, the magnetic sector analyzer may be bypassed and the time-of-flight analyzer used either to analyse the beam of ions from the source or daughter ions produced by fragmentation of that beam.
Claims13
A mass spectrometer comprising an ion source, an ion detector, and, disposed between said ion source and said detector, a plurality of ion analyzers at least one of which is a magnetic-sector ions-momentum analyzer and at least another of which is an ion-mass or ion-momentum analyzer disposed between said magnetic-sector ion-momentum analyzer and said ion detector, said spectrometer being characterised by the provision of bypass means, operable when said magnetic-sector ion-momentum analyzer is not in use, said bypass means comprising a path along which ions may pass from said ion source to said ion-mass or ion-momentum analyzer without passing through said magnetic-sector ion-momentum analyzer.
A method of mass spectrometry comprising the steps of:
- a) generating a beam of ions;
- b) providing a plurality of ion analyzers, at least one of which is a magnetic-sector ion-momentum analyzer and at least another of which is an ion-mass or ion-momentum analyzer disposed downstream of said magnetic-sector ion-momentum analyzer;
- c) detecting at least some ions after they have passed through at least said ion-mass or ion-momentum analyzer disposed downstream of said magnetic-sector ion-momentum analyzer;
- the method being characterised by the additional step of:
- d) providing a bypass path along which ions may travel to said ion-mass or ion-momentum analyzer without passing through said magnetic sector ion-momentum analyzer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.