Patent ID: 7439520

Claim:
An ion focusing system for sample analysis comprising: an ion source for ionizing a sample to form sample ions, a portion of the sample ions having substantially the same mass-to-charge ratio and having a spread of kinetic energies, and an ion optics system in communication with the ion source including: two or more pairs of ion condensers, each pair of ion condensers comprising a first member and a second member; the members of each pair of ion condensers disposed on opposite sides of a first plane such that the first member of a pair of ion condensers has a position that is substantially mirror symmetric about the first plane relative to the position of the second member of the pair, and wherein the deflection angle of each of the ion condensers is less than or equal to 180 degrees; and wherein the two or more pairs of ion condensers are arranged such that the portion of sample ions having substantially the same mass-to-charge ratio and having a spread of kinetic energies entering the ion optics system along a first trajectory exit the ion optics system along a second trajectory, the second trajectory being substantially the same for said portion of sample ions, and the second trajectory being substantially parallel to said first trajectory, and further wherein said portion of sample ions having the same mass-to-charge ratio exit the ion optics system along the second trajectory and arrive at an image plane at substantially the same time.