Patent ID: 9589775
Date: 2017-03-07
CPC Classifications: H01J

Claim:
1. A mass spectrometry (MS) system, comprising: an ion source configured for producing analyte ions; a chamber; an internal surface located in the chamber; a plasma source configured for generating or flowing plasma in the chamber effective for cleaning the internal surface, the plasma source comprising a microwave power source, a plasma outlet, and a housing communicating with the chamber via the plasma outlet, wherein the plasma source is configured for applying a microwave power sufficient to generate plasma both in the housing and in the chamber; and a controller configured for switching between operating the MS system in an analytical mode and a cleaning mode, wherein: during the analytical mode, the controller is configured for producing analytical data from the ion measurement signals; and during the cleaning mode the controller is configured for operating the plasma source to generate or flow the plasma in the chamber.