MEANS FOR REDUCING FORMATION OR REFORMATION OF UNWANTED MOLECULE ION, AND MASS SPECTROMETER

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize formation or reformation of unwanted artifact ions in a collision cell (24). SOLUTION: The present invention relates to inductively coupled high frequency plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) in which the collision cell is employed to selectively react the unwanted artifact ions with a reagent gas from an ion beam to remove the unwanted artifact ions. The present invention provides a first evacuated chamber (6) at high vacuum located between an expansion chamber (3) and a second evacuated chamber (20) containing the collision cell (24). The first evacuated chamber (6) includes a first ion optical device (17). The collision cell (24) contains a second ion optical device (25). The provision of the first evacuated chamber (6) reduces a gas load on the collision cell (24), by minimizing a residual pressure within the collision cell (24) that is attributable to the gas load from the plasma source (1). COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT