Instrumentation beam-type mass spectrometer

Another instrument used in physical chemistry research that employs quadnipole mass filters is the guided ion beam mass spectrometer [31]. A schematic diagram of an example of this type of instrument is shown in figure B 1.7.13. A... 

The term Q/TOF is used to describe a type of hybrid mass spectrometer system in which a quadrupole analyzer (Q) is used in conjunction with a time-of-flight analyzer (TOP). The use of two analyzers together (hybridized) provides distinct advantages that cannot be achieved by either analyzer individually. In the Q/TOF, the quadrupole is used in one of two modes to select the ions to be examined, and the TOF analyzer measures the actual mass spectrum. Hexapole assemblies are also used to help collimate the ion beams. The hybrid orthogonal Q/TOF instrument is illustrated in Figure 23.1. 

In Dynamic Secondary Ion Ma s Spectrometry (SIMS), a focused ion beam is used to sputter material from a specific location on a solid surface in the form of neutral and ionized atoms and molecules. The ions are then accelerated into a mass spectrometer and separated according to their mass-to-charge ratios. Several kinds of mass spectrometers and instrument configurations are used, depending upon the type of materials analyzed and the desired results. 

Every mass spectrometer consists of four principal components (Fig 1) (1) the source, where a beam of gaseous ions are produced from the sample (2) the analyzer, where the ion beam is resolved into its characteristic mass species (3) the detector, where the ions are detected and their intensities measured (4) the sample introduction system to vaporize and admit the sample into the ion source. There is a wide variety in each of these components and only those types which are relevant to analytical and organic mass spectrometry will be emphasized in this survey. The instrumentation... 

Mass spectrometers, workhorse instmments described in Chapter 2, require a vacuum to function. A mass spectrometer generates a beam of ions that is sorted according to specifications of the particular instrument. Usually, the sorting depends on differences in speed, trajectory, and mass. For instance, one type of mass spectrometer measures how long it takes ions to travel from one end of a tube to another. Residual gas must be removed from the tube to eliminate collisions between gas molecules and the ions that are being analyzed. As the diagram shows, collisions with unwanted gas molecules deflect the ions from their paths and change the expected mass spectral pattern. 

The most widely used method for ionization is electron impact (El). In an El source the sample is placed in the path of an electron beam. Although many newer kinds of ion sources have been developed, El is the method commonly used in classical isotope-ratio mass spectrometers (IRMS), i.e. mass spectrometers designed for precise isotopic analysis. In this type of spectrometer the ions, once formed, are electrostatically accelerated, and then ejected through a slit into a magnetic field held perpendicular to the ion trajectory. In the magnetic sector part of the instrument the particles are deflected in an arc described by ... 

The dwelltime of ions within the ion source is defined by the extraction voltages applied to accelerate and focus them into an ion beam and by the dimensions of that ion source. In standard El ion sources the freshly formed ions dwell about 1 ps before they are forced to leave the ionization volume by action of the accelerating potential. [41] As the ions then travel at speeds of some 10 m s they pass the mass analyzer in the order of 10-50 ps (Fig. 2.9). [9] Even though this illustration has been adapted for a double focusing magnetic sector mass spectrometer, an ion of m/z 100, and an acceleration voltage of 8 kV, the effective time scales for other types of instruments (quadrupole, time-of-flight) are very similar under their typical conditions of operation (Table 2.4). 

It has been the purpose of this paper to provide an overview of the basic differences and similarities of the various types of Instruments which detect Ionized particles emitted from surfaces by energetic particle bombardment. Since the scope of secondary ion mass spectrometry Is so broad, It is not surprising that no one Instrument has been designed to perform optimally for all types of SIMS analyses. Design aspects of the primary beam, extraction optics, mass spectrometer, detection equipment and vacuum system must be considered to construct an Instrument best suited for a particular purpose. 

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