An improved ion source for thermal ionization mass spectrometer

Basak, Arkadip; Bhatia, R.K.; Yadav, Varsha; Ravisankar, E.; Saha, Tushar; Nataraju, V.; Gadkari, S. C.

doi:10.1016/j.ijms.2017.10.006

Cited by 3 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The dimensional details from the simulation studies were converted into a workable mechanical model for all three sub‐systems (including the VDZO). The design details and the working parameters of the ion source are discussed elsewhere 9 . The collector system consists of six Faraday collectors in two groups, that is LM3, LM2 and LM1 on the lower mass side and HM1 and HM2 on the higher mass side of the central axial collector C, as shown in Figure 1, which also shows the details of the DCQs and deflection optics in the VDZO.…”

Section: Design Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) is a widely used analytical tool for the determination of precise isotope ratios of elements of interest in geochronology, environment and nuclear applications 1–5 . The design enhancements of the subsystems, namely ion source, magnetic analyser and collector system, and their benefits were elucidated in our earlier publications 6–9 . The overall size of the TI mass spectrometer is defined by the sector radius ( r ), deflection angle (Φ), entry ( ɛ i ) and exit angles ( ɛ o ), which are determined by the required resolution and dispersion for the collection of nearest isotopes on adjacent collectors for the given analyte element.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This development involves ab initio calculations for the ion‐optical elements, the validation through simulation studies on the sector magnet geometry and VDZO specific to a 20 cm magnetic sector using SIMION 7.0 15 software and subsequent experimental verification. This paper discusses the results on various performance parameters such as resolution, maximum mass achievable, precision, sensitivity and abundance sensitivity using the uranium standard and compares them with the results from a 30 cm TI mass spectrometer developed by us 6‐9 . The TI mass spectrometer with a 20 cm sector radius (current development) and the one with a 30 cm sector radius will be referred to as the compact TI mass spectrometer and the conventional TI mass spectrometer, respectively, throughout this paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3][4][5] The design enhancements of the subsystems, namely ion source, magnetic analyser and collector system, and their benefits were elucidated in our earlier publications. [6][7][8][9] The overall size of the TI mass spectrometer is defined by the sector radius (r), deflection angle (Φ), entry (ϵ i ) and exit angles (ϵ o ), which are determined by the required resolution and dispersion for the collection of nearest isotopes on adjacent collectors for the given analyte element. The lower limit on sector radius is imposed mainly by the dispersion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Design and development of a compact thermal ionization mass spectrometer for isotope ratio measurement of uranium

Bhatia

Yadav

Gulhane

et al. 2020

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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RationaleA new compact thermal ionization (TI) mass spectrometer, for the isotope ratio analysis of the elements relevant to nuclear applications, has been designed and developed. The new development offers superior performance in terms of sensitivity, precision and a compact footprint in comparison with the conventional one. The main feature of the TI mass spectrometer is the magnetic sector analyser with a sector radius of 20 cm (instead of 30/27 cm in conventional/commercial geometry). An apparent reduction in dispersion has been adequately compensated by employing variable dispersion zoom optics (VDZO).MethodsThe theoretical calculations were validated by computer simulations using SIMION 7.0, leading to the finalization of the mechanical design. Experimental evaluation was carried out using standard TI mass spectrometric methodology to determine the parameters, namely peak flatness, mass range, sensitivity, abundance sensitivity, resolution and precision.ResultsThe multi‐collector resolution was 496, and the maximum mass was m/z 382. The sensitivity for uranium was found to be better than 1 ion for 500 atoms, and an abundance sensitivity of 50 ppm at m/z 237 was obtained. The peak flatness for the uranium peak was 3200 ppm of mass. The precision for the isotopic ratio 235U/238U was found to be 0.05% for the U200 standard.ConclusionsA new compact TI mass spectrometer with a 20 cm sector radius has been designed and developed. The advantage of larger dispersion produced by the VDZO (developed in‐house) was exploited when deciding the 20 cm sector radius. The comparison study with the conventional TI mass spectrometer shows an enhanced (1.5×) sensitivity and an improved precision (0.05%) for the 235U/238U ratio of U200.

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Section: Design Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Design and development of a compact thermal ionization mass spectrometer for isotope ratio measurement of uranium

Bhatia

Yadav

Gulhane

et al. 2020

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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“…There are numerous parameters such as the geometry, the electrical and magnetic potentials, the nature of the vapor species and their ionization energies which can be modified and widely varied in all possible ranges by using 3-D computer simulations before its manufacturing. Among existing softwares, the SIMION program has successfully been used for developing a number of ion sources [5,6,7,8].…”

Section: A N U S C R I P Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical simulations of magnetic electron-impact ion source

Иванов

Bourdon

2019

International Journal of Mass Spectrometry

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An electron impact ion source equipped with a magnet has been designed for enhancing the ionization efficiency of such ion sources with potential applications in Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry or electron impact sources used in gas mass spectrometry. This modernized device utilizes the trapping of electrons in parallel electrical and magnetic fields with the goal of maximizing the probability of impact between an electron and an atom or molecule to be ionized. The influence of magnetic and electrical fields on ions and electron trajectories inside the ion source was studied with numerical simulations. Based on the electron and ion trajectories we have modified the classical Nier-type ion source and found the optimal geometrical and potential parameters to provide better electron ionization and higher ion extraction efficiency. This design has the potential to enhance ionization efficiency by a factor of ∼15-20 compared with existing designs.

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