Construction of a Digitally Operated Aerosol Laser Ablation Ion Trap Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer PDF Download

Author: Nathan Michael Hoffman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
Digital mass spectrometry offers the promise of unlimited mass range and enhanced functionality with existing instrument designs. The theoretical fundamentals of ion handling with digital waveforms have been well-established in the literature. Unfortunately, the lack of practical methods of implementing this theory is corroborated by the lack of publications describing analyses performed using digital mass spectrometry. The work contained herein describes methods of digital ion handling, the digital manipulation of ion stability, methods of controlling digital mass spectrometers, and digital waveform generation using microcontroller-based systems. The trapping of ions produced by laser ablation of aerosol particles is characterized as a function of various ion trap operating parameters. Three methods of low-voltage waveform generation providing a wide range of duty cycle resolution are discussed. The use of microcontrollers and analog-to-digital conversion for data acquisition is also covered in detail. Digital mass spectrometry is poised to expand the mass range of analysis by providing more capable instrumentation at lower cost than is achievable with current sinusoidal waveform technology. This work provides detailed descriptions of the practical methods by which this transition to digital mass spectrometry will be implemented down to the level of microcontroller firmware and hardware schematics.