Method and apparatus for detection of charge on ions and particles
OwnerStephen Douglas Fuerstenau, George Arthur Soliinventors
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Abstract
The present invention provides a tessellated array detector with charge collecting plate (or cup) electrode pixels and amplifying circuitry integrated into each pixel making it sensitive to external electrostatic charge; a micro collector/amplifier pixel design possessing a small capacitance to ensure a high charge to voltage signal conversion for low noise/high sensitivity operation; a micro-fabricated array of such pixels to create a useful macroscopic target area for ion and charged particle collection.
Claims18
A method for measuring a charge on a single multiply-charged ion, said method comprising:
- receiving a single multiply-charged ion at one of a plurality of single ion sensitive Faraday cups;
- and
- communicating said charge between said one of said plurality of single ion sensitive Faraday cups and a charge-sensing circuit.
The method for analyzing a plurality of charges from single multiply-charged ions detected at a plurality of single ion sensitive Faraday cups, said method comprising:
- comparing each of said plurality of charges to a threshold value;
- and
- providing an output signal corresponding to each of said plurality of charges having a defined relationship to said threshold value.
Apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of Faraday cups, said Faraday cups being sufficiently sensitive to measure the charge of a single multiply-charge ion;
- a plurality of amplifier circuits, each of said amplifier circuits coupled to a corresponding one of said plurality of Faraday cups.
A method for detecting the charge on a single multiply-charged ion comprising;
- receiving said single multiply-charged individual ion at an infrared detector array, said infrared detector array comprising a plurality of single ion sensitive infrared detectors.
A method for controlling a beam of charged particles comprising:
- detecting incidence of said charged particles on a plurality of detectors;
- adjusting said beam such that a likelihood of incidence of more than one of said charged particles on any one of said detectors during a read cycle of said detectors is below a threshold.
A method for detecting a single multiply-charged ion in a mass spectrometer comprising the steps of:
- receiving said single multiply-charged ion at a single ion sensitive Faraday cup of an array detector;
- and
- measuring the charge of said single multiply-charged ion at said single ion sensitive Faraday cup of said array detector.
Apparatus comprising:
- a mass spectrometer for determining the mass of a single multiply-charged ion, said mass spectrometer comprising an array detector, said array detector comprising a plurality of single ion sensitive Faraday cups.
Method for performing charge detection mass spectrometry using an array detector comprising:
- providing a stream of multiple-charged individual ions;
- configuring a mass filter to pass ions of a desired mass-to-charge ration;
- measuring individual ion charge at said array detector;
- and
- calculating a mass of said individual ions based on said desired mass-to-charge and said individual ion charge.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.