Patent ID: 7045779

Claim:
An apparatus for identifying components of a sample mixture, the components having respective ionization potentials defining a range of ionization potentials, the apparatus comprising: a chamber; at least one inlet with a sample injection valve opening to the chamber for introducing pulses of the sample mixture and of first and second reagent gasses; excitation plates in the chamber for inducing orbital motion of ionized components within the chamber; detecting plates for detecting the ionized components in the chamber; an electron source for directing electrons into the chamber; a controller configured to control the sample injection valve, the excitation plates, the detection plates and the electron source; the controller including a computer readable medium with executable instructions for performing the steps of introducing a pulse of first reagent gas through the inlet, ionizing the first reagent gas by actuating the electron source; admitting a pulse of the sample mixture through the inlet and ionizing the sample mixture through a charge exchange reaction with the ionized reagent gas, inducing an orbital motion with the excitation plates and detecting orbiting molecules with the detection plates, and repeating steps using the second reagent gas.