Ionization of organic substances on conveyor means in mass spectrometer

US4178507A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Varian Mat GmbH

Inventors

• Curt Brunnee · Ritterhude, DE
• Jochen Franzen · Bremen, DE
• Stefan Meier · Neubiberg, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 29, 1977
• Grant date: Dec 11, 1979
• Expiry date: Nov 29, 1997

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2030/8417
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Organic samples 10 coming from a liquid chromatograph 11 are deposited on a conveyor belt 13 which transports them into a vacuum chamber at the entry end of a mass spectrometer. The samples are ionized directly on the belt by ion bombardment or using a gaseous charge carrier. Ionization is enhanced by applying an oxide layer to the belt, by neutralizing the image force, and by vaporizing alkali atoms on the belt to reduce the ionization potential.