Patent ID: 8530832

Claim:
An ion source comprising: a housing that defines a chamber, and located inside the chamber: a capillary having a receiving end and a delivery end, wherein a liquid sample can be received from outside of the chamber through the receiving end and sprayed into droplets out of the delivery end in the chamber; a conduit surrounding the capillary for transmitting a heated gas, the conduit being connected to a nozzle to release the heated gas into the chamber; wherein the ion source further comprises one or more of the following features: (1) a shielding layer between the capillary and the conduit, wherein the shielding layer can conduct heat; (2) the capillary is grounded; (3) the nozzle comprises electrodes capable of generating an electrical field that can electrically charge at least some of the droplets; and (4) the nozzle and the capillary can be maintained at the same voltage potential.