Ion mobility spectrometer apparatus and methods
AssigneeExcellims Corporation
InventorChing Wu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An ion mobility spectrometer includes a protective housing. A drift tube having at least one inlet and at least one outlet confines a drift gas. An ion gate is positioned in the drift tube. The ion gate defines a reaction region and a drift region in the drift tube. An ion detector is positioned in the drift tube downstream of the ion gate at an end of the drift region. A helical resistive wire coil is positioned around the drift tube. A power supply generates an electric field in the helical resistive wire coil that rapidly controls the temperature of the drift gas.
Claims32
An ion mobility spectrometer comprising:
- a a protective housing;
- b a drift tube comprising a coil that confines ions in a drift gas, the drift tube comprising at least one inlet and at least one outlet for passing the drift gas;
- c an ion gate positioned at an beginning of a drift region in the drift tube;
- d an ion detector positioned in the drift tube downstream of the ion gate at an end of the drift region;
- and
- e at least one power supply having an output that is electrically coupled to the coil that generates an electric field in the drift tube.
A method for operating an ion mobility spectrometer, the method comprising:
- a rapidly heating and cooling the spectrometer and drift gas passing through the spectrometer;
- b separating at least some of the ionized chemical species along a drift region in an axial direction of the spectrometer;
- and
- c detecting separated ions at an end of the drift region in the axial direction.
A method for operating an ion mobility spectrometer, the method comprising:
- performing a series of mobility measurements of the ionic species from a sample while changing a pressure of a drift tube within the spectrometer, including
- separating at least some ionized chemical species along a drift axis in the drift tube;
- and
- detecting ions at an end of the drift axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.