Patent ID: 6914243

Claim:
Apparatus for the collection, focusing, and directing of gas-phase ions or charged particles from a higher pressure region into a lower pressure region, the apparatus comprising: a. a source of ions in said higher pressure region; b. a laminated interface populated with a plurality of openings forming an barrier between said higher and lower pressure regions through which said ions pass unobstructed, said interface comprising a flat body of insulating material having a layer of metal laminated on both sides, topside and underside, of said body that is contiguous with said body, said metal laminate on the topside of said interface is adjacent to said ion source, said laminates being supplied with individual attracting electric potentials by connection to a voltage supply generating an electrostatic field between said source of ions in said higher pressure region and said interface; c. a destination in said lower pressure region having a lower electric potential than said interface, said destination is adjacent to said metal laminate on the underside of said lens, for receiving said ions.