TANDEM HIGH FIELD ASYMMETRIC WAVEFORM ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY (FAIMS) / ION MOBILITY SPECTROMETRY

摘要

The present invention relates to a device for separation and characterizationof gas-phase ions. The device incorporates an ion source, a field asymmetricwaveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) analyzer, an ion mobilityspectrometry (IMS) drift tube, and an ion detector. In one aspect of theinvention, FAIMS operating voltages are electrically floated on top of the IMSdrift voltage. In the other aspect, the FAIMS/IMS interface is implementedemploying an electrodynamics ion funnel, including in particular an hourglassion funnel. The present invention improves the efficiency (peak capacity) andsensitivity of gas-phase separations; the online FAIMS/IMS coupling creates afundamentally novel two-dimensional gas-phase separation technology with highpeak capacity, specificity, and exceptional throughput.