Asymmetric rectilinear ion trap with unidirectional ion ejection capability

Abstract

In this paper, the shapes of the electrodes are modified based on a rectilinear ion trap to achieve unidirectional ejection of ions. The designed asymmetric rectilinear ion trap (ARIT) analyzer adds convex and concave circular structures with a height of 0.5 mm on the two X-electrodes, so that the electric field center of the ion trap is inclined to the concave side. The electric field lines of the convex side are compressed to the concave side. Both simulations and experimental results show that ions are more likely to emit from the slit on the concave side plate when performing ion resonance ejection. The mass spectrum signal intensity can reach more than twice that of the original rectilinear trap when using only one detector. Calculations of the electric field components in the trap show that the even-order higher field proportion in the ion trap has not been significantly affected. Combined with the experimental test results, the study further confirmed that the developed ARIT has no significant loss in mass resolution, tandem mass spectrometry capability, and quantitative analysis capability. The proposed asymmetric structure modification scheme can achieve single-side ejection without significantly affecting other performances of the analyzer, which provides a new idea for the structural optimization of the subsequent ion trap analyzers.

Towards Higher Sensitivity of Mass Spectrometry: A Perspective From the Mass Analyzers

“…Due to the higher ion capture capability of RIT, the S/N was increased by 40 times compared to the conventional cylindrical ion trap. Huo et al (2020) modified a conventional RIT electrode into an asymmetric rectilinear ion trap (ARIT) with unidirectional ion ejection capability. Convex and concave circular structures were added to the two X electrodes.…”

Fabricating an Electrospray Ionization Chip Based on Induced Polarization and Liquid Splitting

“…Mass spectrometry (MS) can distinguish and identify chemical compounds by their mass-to-charge ratios. It has the characteristics of high sensitivity, fast response, and high precision, and miniaturization has become an important trend in its development [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. The coupling of the microfluidic chip to mass spectrometry (Chip–MS) can greatly broaden the application fields of microfluidics technology and MS [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”