Improvements in and relating to the measurement of ions

摘要

A method of detecting a position of an ion(s) comprising providing a fluorescent said ion(s) or attaching a fluorescent agent to said ion(s) to provide a tagged ion(s), providing an ion conduit for directing ions along a path and a detection area in communication with the ion conduit comprising a light sheet extending across a said path, releasing said ion(s) or tagged ion(s) into the ion conduit to move therealong towards the detection area, and detecting fluorescent light from the fluorescent ion(s) or the tagged ion(s) excited by interaction with the light sheet, thereby to detect a position of the ion(s) as being a position of or within the light sheet.