Orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Abstract

A multipole ion guide () including a plurality of rod electrodes arranged at an angle to the central axis (C) is placed within a collision cell () located in the previous stage of an orthogonal accelerator (). Radio-frequency voltages with opposite phases are applied to the rod electrodes of the ion guide () so that any two rod electrodes neighboring each other in the circumferential direction have opposite phases of the voltage. A depth gradient of the pseudopotential is thereby formed from the entrance end toward the exit end within the space surrounded by the rod electrodes, and ions are accelerated by this gradient. During an ion-accumulating process, a direct voltage having the same polarity as the ions is applied to the exit lens electrode () to form a potential barrier for accumulating ions. Among the ions repelled by the potential barrier, ions having smaller m/z return closer to the entrance end. Therefore, when the potential barrier is removed and ions are discharged, ions having smaller m/z are discharged at later points in time than those having larger m/z. Therefore, a wide m/z range of ions can be simultaneously accelerated and ejected by an orthogonal accelerator ().