Patent ID: 7217919
Filing Date: 2007-05-15
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for analyzing chemical species, comprising: (a) at least two ion sources for producing ions from said chemical species; (b) means of transporting said ions from each of said ion sources to separate two dimensional ion traps, (c) each of said two-dimensional ion traps being used for storage and transmission of said ions from each of said ion sources, (d) a mass analyzer, wherein all of said ion traps operate between said ion sources and said mass analyzer, (e) all of said ion traps having a set of equally spaced, parallel, multipole rods, (f) all of said ion traps having an ion entrance section where said ions enter said ion trap and an ion exit section where said ions exit said ion trap, (g) all of said ion traps being positioned such that said ion entrance section is placed in a region where background gas pressure is at viscous flow, and such that the pressure along said ion trap at said ion exit section drops to molecular flow pressure regimes without a break in the structure of said ion trap, (h) an ion trap exit lens located proximal to said ion trap exit section of each of said ion traps, wherein each of said ion traps being made to alternately store and transmit ions by using a fast voltage switching device to switch voltage levels of said ion trap exit lens, (i) all of said ion traps being operated in a synchronized manner to ensure that said ions detected by said mass analyzer be correctly and unequivocally associated with its respective ion source, (j) a detector; (k) said detector with which said ions from each of said ion sources are serially mass analyzed, (l) said detector being coupled to a data acquisition system which can distinguish which signals arise from which said ion source, (m) an accurate timing device that controls said voltage switching devices for synchronizing said voltage levels of said ion traps exit lenses with a mass analyzer, and which determines the respective voltage levels, durations and time delays of said voltage levels of said ion trap exit lenses and said mass analyzer to each other.