Patent ID: 9683965
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: G01N

Claim:
1. A hybrid ion mobility spectrometer comprising: a single-pass drift tube having an ion inlet at one end and an ion outlet at an opposite end, the single-pass drift tube configured to separate in time ions entering the ion inlet thereof and traveling therethrough according to a first function of ion mobility, a multiple-pass drift tube having an ion inlet and an ion outlet each coupled to the single pass drift tube between the ion inlet of the single-pass drift tube and the ion outlet of the single-pass drift tube, the multiple-pass drift tube configured to separate in time ions entering the ion inlet of the multiple-pass drift tube and traveling one or more times therethrough according to the first or a second function of ion mobility, and a set of ion gates each controllable between an open position to pass ions therethrough and a closed position to block ions from passing therethrough, the set of ion gates controlled between the open and closed positions to selectively pass at least some of the ions traveling through the single-pass drift tube into the multiple-pass drift tube via the ion inlet of the multiple-pass drift tube and to selectively pass at least some of the ions traveling through the multiple-pass drift tube into the single-pass drift tube via the ion outlet of the multiple-pass drift tube.