Microscope imaging mass spectrometry with a reflectron

Journal article

A time-of-flight microscope imaging mass spectrometer incorporating a reflectron was used to image mass-resolved ions generated from a 270 μm diameter surface. Mass and spatial resolutions of 8100 ± 700 m/Δm and 18 μm ± 6 μm, respectively, were obtained simultaneously by using pulsed extraction differential acceleration ion optical focusing to create a pseudo-source plane for a single-stage gridless reflectron. The obtainable mass resolution was limited only by the response time of the position-sensitive detector and, according to simulations, could potentially reach 30 200 ± 2900 m/Δm. The spatial resolution can be further improved at the expense of the mass resolution to at least 6 μm by increasing the applied extraction field. An event-triggered fast imaging sensor was additionally used to record ion images for each time-of-flight peak resolved during an experimental cycle, demonstrating the high-throughput capability of the instrument.

Authors: Burleigh, RJ; Guo, A; Smith, N; Green, A; Thompson, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: AIP Publishing
• Journal: Review of Scientific Instruments
• Volume: 91
• Issue: 2
• Article number: 023306
• Publication date: 2020-02-04
• Acceptance date: 2020-01-13
• DOI: 10.1063/1.5142271
• EISSN: 1089-7623
• ISSN: 0034-6748
• Language: English