| 摘要 |
An apparatus for a mass spectrometer comprises a heater for heating a gas flow to an ion source, a temperature sensor for monitoring the temperature of the heater, and a control system which determines a flow rate of the gas flow by monitoring the power supplied to the heater and the temperature of the heater. Preferably, the gas flow 212 is a desolvation gas flow 224 of an atmospheric pressure ion source (e.g. electrospray ionisation) and the heater is a desolvation gas heater 230. As the gas flow passes the desolvation heater, the temperature of the heater is reduced by the transfer of heat from the heater to the gas flow, allowing the flow of gas to be monitored if the power provided to the heater is known. The invention makes it possible to determine a gas flow rate using pre-existing sensors in an ion source without providing separate flow sensors. |
