Duty Cycle Improvement for a Mass Spectrometer Using Ion Mobility Separation

Abstract

Using ion mobility separation to improve a duty cycle of a mass spectrometer is described. In one aspect, a mass spectrometer can use an ion-mobility spectrometer to allow for more multiply-charged ions to transmit through than singly-charged ions. This results in a mass analyzer to perform a mass analysis with more multiply-charged ions.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A mass spectrometer, comprising:
 an ion source configured to receive a sample and generate singly-charged ions and multiply-charged ions from the sample;   an ion-mobility spectrometer (IMS) configured to receive the singly-charged ions and the multiply-charged ions, and configured to allow transmission of more multiply-charged ions through an output of the IMS than transmission of the singly-charged ions through the output of the IMS;   an ion accumulator configured to store the multiply-charged ions that drift through the output of the IMS;   a storage trap configured to receive a portion of the multiply-charged ions stored by the ion accumulator;   a mass analyzer configured to receive the portion of multiply-charged ions stored in the storage trap for mass analysis; and   a controller circuit configured to determine an operational state of the mass analyzer and adjust operation of the ion accumulator to allow the portion of the multiply-charged ions to transmit from the ion storage to the storage trap.