Time-of-flight mass spectrometer

Abstract

Ions ejected substantially simultaneously from a collision cell after being temporarily held inside the collision cell arrive at an orthogonal acceleration unit through an ion transport optical system. When the ions enter the orthogonal acceleration unit, voltages having a predetermined potential difference are applied to an entrance-side electrode and an exit-side auxiliary electrode, and as a result an electric field having a rising potential gradient along an axis is created in the orthogonal acceleration unit. As ions having low an m/z values and entering the orthogonal acceleration unit first is significantly decelerate, the packet of ions spread in the X-axis direction in accordance with the m/z values are compressed in the X-axis direction after entering the orthogonal acceleration unit. Thus, a mass-to-charge ratio range of ions that are accelerated in the orthogonal acceleration unit is broadened, and a mass spectrum of a broad range of mass-to-charge ratios can be obtained.