摘要 |
<p>It is arranged so that ions can be analyzed accurately and with high sensitivity. A first electrode 11 is provided on the outer periphery of a dielectric cylindrical body 13 and a second electrode 12 is placed inside the cylindrical body 13 leaving a clearance between itself and the inner surface of the cylindrical body 13. When an AC high voltage is impressed across the first electrode 11 and second electrode 12, a barrier discharge occurs within the cylindrical body 13. When a distal end portion 12a of the second electrode 12 projects outwardly from the distal end of the cylindrical body 13, a thermal equilibrium plasma P having a low electron temperature is generated outwardly of the distal end of the cylindrical body 13 without a plasma jet ascribable to the barrier discharge emerging outwardly from the distal end of the cylindrical body 13. By exposing a sample S to the thermal equilibrium plasma P, particles (atoms, molecules) desorbed from the sample S undergo soft ionization without being decomposed or polymerized. The ions generated are introduced to a mass analyzer 50.</p> |