MASS SPECTROMETRY WITH MULTIPOLE ION GUIDES

摘要

A mass spectrometer (40) is configured with individual multipole ion guides (60, 62) configured in an assembly in alignment along a common centerline (5) wherein at least a portion of each multiple ion guide (60, 62) mounted in the assembly resides in a vacuum region (72, 73) with higher background pressure. Said multiple ion guides (60, 62) configured in a higher pressure vacuum region (72, 73) are operated in mass to charge selection and ion fragmentation modes. Individual sets of RF, +/- DC and resonant frequency waveform voltage supplies provide potentials to the rods of each multiple ion guide allowing the operation of ion transmission, ion trapping, mass to charge selection and ion fragmentation functions independently in each ion guide (60, 62). The presence of background pressure maintained sufficiently high to cause ion to neutral gas collisions along a portion of each multiple ion guide linear assembly allows the conducting of Collisional Induced Dissociation (CID) fragmentation of ions by axially accelerating ions from one multiple ion guide into an adjacent ion guide, analoguous to a triple quadruple ion function.