Ion separation instrument
US6559441B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 12, 2002 |
| Grant date | May 6, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 12, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J49/40
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An ion separation instrument includes an ion source coupled to at least a first ion mobility spectrometer having an ion outlet coupled to a mass spectrometer. In one embodiment, the ion source includes a molecule separation instrument operable to separate ions in time according to a molecular characteristic such as ion retention time. The resultant instrument is thus operable to provide molecular information separated in time as functions of retention time, ion mobility and ion mass/charge. In another embodiment, the ion separation instrument includes first and second ion mobility instruments disposed in a cascade arrangement between the ion source and mass spectrometer, wherein the two ion mobility instruments are operable to separate ions in time each according to different ion mobility functions. For example, the two ion mobility instruments may have different flight tube lengths, operate at different temperatures, operate in the presence of different electric fields and/or operate in the presence of different gases. The resultant instrument is thus operable to provide molecular information separated in time according to at least two different functions of ion mobility as well a…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.