Orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer and lead-in electrode for the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11201046-B2
Application number	US-201817053091-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2018
Priority date	May 30, 2018
Publication date	Dec 14, 2021
Grant date	Dec 14, 2021

Abstract

A lead-in electrode, of an orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer, includes: a main body having an ion passing part and a first member including a main-body accommodating part that is a through-hole. One surface of the first member includes an extension part to define a position of one surface of the main body. A second member is attached to the first member. A through-hole is provided at a position of the second member. One surface of the second member includes a first area in contact with a surface opposite to the one surface of the first member and a second area located inside with respect to the first area. The second area is formed lower than a surface, of the first area, in contact with the surface opposite to the one surface. A lead-in electrode elastic member is disposed, in the second area, between the first member and second members.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A lead-in electrode of an orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer, the lead-in electrode comprising:
(a) a main body having a plate shape, the main body having an ion passing part;
(b) a first member which is a plate-shaped member in which there is provided a main-body accommodating part which is a through-hole and accommodates the main body, wherein on one surface of the first member there is provided an extension part to delimit a position of one surface of the main body accommodated in the main-body accommodating part;
(c) a second member which is a plate-shaped member and is to be attached to the first member accommodating the main body in the main-body accommodating part, wherein a through-hole is provided at such a position of the second member that at least a part of the ion passing part is not blocked, and on one surface of the second member there are formed a first area which is in contact with a surface opposite to the one surface of the first member and a second area which is located inside with respect to the first area and is formed lower than a surface, of the first area, in contact with the surface opposite to the one surface of the first member; and
(d) an elastic member disposed, in the second area, between the main body and the second member.

2. The lead-in electrode according to claim 1 , wherein the second area is formed in a recessed shape.

3. An orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer comprising:
(e) an orthogonal accelerator section having the lead-in electrode according to claim 1 and an expulsion electrode;
(f) a second accelerator section constituted by one or a plurality of electrodes;
(g) a base plate;
(h) a plurality of rod-shaped members provided to stand on the base plate;
(i) first spacer members each of which is a member attached to a respective one of the plurality of rod-shaped members and defines a distance from the base plate to the lead-in electrode;
(j) second spacer members each of which is a member attached to a respective one of the plurality of rod-shaped members and defines a distance from the lead-in electrode to the expulsion electrode; and
(k) third spacer members each of which is a member attached to a respective one of the rod-shaped members and defines a distance from the base plate to an electrode which is one of the electrodes constituting the second accelerator section and is disposed at a position closest to the base plate.

4. The orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer according to claim 3 , wherein
the second accelerator section includes a plurality of electrodes, and
the orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer further comprises:
(l) fourth spacer members each of which is a member attached to a respective one of the rod-shaped members and defines the distances between the electrodes constituting the second accelerator section.

5. The orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer according to claim 3 , wherein the first spacer member and the second spacer member are made of ceramic.

6. An orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer, comprising:
(m) a high vacuum chamber in which an orthogonal accelerator section having the lead-in electrode according to claim 1 and an expulsion electrode is disposed;
(n) an intermediate vacuum chamber provided on a former stage of the high vacuum chamber; and
(o) an ion lens configured with: a former stage-side ion lens which is positioned relative to a member located inside the intermediate vacuum chamber and is constituted by one or a plurality of electrodes in each of which an ion passing opening is formed; and a subsequent stage-side ion lens which is positioned relative to a member located inside the high vacuum chamber and is constituted by one or a plurality of electrodes in each of which an ion passing opening is formed,
wherein the ion passing opening in one of the electrodes located on a frontmost stage of the subsequent stage-side ion lens is larger than the ion passing opening of one of the electrodes located on a rearmost stage of the former stage-side ion lens.

7. The orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer according to claim 6 , wherein the ion passing opening of an electrode which is one of the electrodes constituting the ion lens and is located on a frontmost stage of the subsequent stage-side ion lens is a largest of the ion passing openings of all the electrodes constituting the ion lens.

8. The orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer according to claim 6 , wherein an ion passing opening having a slit shape is formed in at least one of the electrodes that constitutes the subsequent stage-side ion lens and that is other than an electrode located on the frontmost stage of the subsequent stage-side ion lens.

9. The orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer according to claim 6 , wherein the subsequent stage-side ion lens and the orthogonal accelerator section are fixed to a same member directly or indirectly to be positioned to each other.

10. The orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer according to claim 6 , wherein one electrode which is one of the electrodes constituting the subsequent stage-side ion lens and whose ion passing opening is smaller than the ion passing opening formed in the electrode located on the frontmost stage constitutes a part of a vacuum bulkhead between the high vacuum chamber and the intermediate vacuum chamber.

Assignees

• Shimadzu Corp

Inventors

• Kudo Tomoya
• Sakagoshi Yusuke

Classifications

• H01J49/068

  Mounting, supporting, spacing, or insulating electrodes · CPC title

• H01J49/401 Primary

  characterised by orthogonal acceleration, e.g. focusing or selecting the ions, pusher electrode · CPC title

• H01J49/403 Primary

  characterised by the acceleration optics and/or the extraction fields · CPC title

• H01J29/82

  Mounting, supporting, spacing, or insulating electron-optical or ion-optical arrangements · CPC title

• H01J49/061

  Ion deflecting means, e.g. ion gates · CPC title