# US 5,708,268 A · Method and device for the transport of ions in vacuum

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- Number: US 5,708,268 A
- Document ID: US5708268A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/644,044
- Filed: 1996-05-09
- Granted: 1998-01-13
- Earliest claimed: 1995-05-12
- Assignees: Bruker-Franzen Analytik GmbH
- Inventors: Jochen Franzen
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5708268A

## CPC

- H01J 49/063: {Multipole ion guides, e.g. quadrupoles, hexapoles}
- H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H)

## Abstract

The invention relates to methods and devices for the efficient and loss-free transfer of ions in moderate vacuum from a first location (a source) to a second location (a user). The invention consists of an arrangement, reaching from the first location to the second, of five pole rods (a pentapole) to which a five-phase radio frequency (RF) voltage is applied.

## Claims

### Claim 1

RF ion guide system, consisting of parallel, electrically conductive pole rods, for the transportation of ions in a vacuum from a first to a second location, with devices for generating the RF voltages supplied to the pole rods,
wherein the rod system consists of five pole rods, and wherein a five-phase RF voltage is used, each phase connected to one of the five pole rods, whereby the voltages of consecutive phases are not applied to adjacent rods.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

Device as in claim 1, wherein the five pole rods are symmetrically and evenly distributed around the surface of a cylinder.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

Device as in claim 2, wherein the pole rods have a diameter of between 0.5 and 5 millimeters and enclose an empty space with a diameter of 1 to 10 millimeters.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

Device as in claim 2, wherein the five phases of the rotational voltage have the same phase spacing of 27.pi./5=72.degree. in each case.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

Device as in claim 2, wherein the five-phase RF voltage is between 50 and 1,000 volts and the frequency is between 500 kilohertz and 10 megahertz.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

Device as in claim 2, with means of maintaining a higher pressure in parts of the five rod system, wherein ion motion in these parts is damped by the higher pressure of the damping gas.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

Device as in claim 2, with terminal apertures and a voltage supply for the apertures, wherein the ions are stored by reflecting potentials at the terminal apertures, at least temporarily.

### Claim 8

Method for transferring ions in a vacuum from a first to a second location with the aid of an RF ion guide system, wherein the ion guide system consists of five parallel pole rods, and wherein a phase of a five-phase RF voltage is applied to each pole rod, whereby the voltages of consecutive phases are not applied to adjacent rods.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

Method as in claim 8, wherein the ion movement is damped by a gas, at least in a part of the five pole rod system.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

Method as in claim 8, wherein the ions are stored by reflecting electric fields at the ends of the five pole system, at least temporarily.