An ionizing system includes a channel and a heater coupled to the channel. The channel has an inlet disposed in a first pressure region having a first pressure and an outlet disposed in a second pressure region having a second pressure. The first pressure is greater than the second pressure. The heater is for heating the channel, and the channel is configured to generate charged particles of a sample in response to the sample being introduced into the channel

An ion transport device of a mass spectrometer includes a plurality of pole rod arranged in first and second parallel rows and a controller. The controller is configured to apply voltages in a repeating voltage pattern to the pole rods of the first row and apply a common voltage to the pole rods of the second row thereby creating a plurality of potential wells capable of capturing ions, wherein each ion transport cell receives the same pattern of voltages; move the repeating voltage pattern along the pole rods of the first row to move captured ions within and between the plurality of ion transport cells along the ion transport device; and apply at least one ejection voltage to one or more electrodes to cause ions to be ejected from the ion transport device.

A method for analyzing charged particles may include generating, in or into an ion source region, charged particles from a sample of particles, causing the charged particles to enter a mass spectrometer from the ion source region at each of a plurality of differing physical and/or chemical conditions in a range of physical and/or chemical conditions in which the sample particles undergo structural changes, controlling the mass spectrometer to measure at least the charge magnitudes of the generated charged particles at each of the plurality of differing physical and/or chemical conditions, determining, with a processor, an average charge magnitude of the generated charged particles at each of the plurality of differing physical and/or chemical conditions based on the measured charge magnitudes, and determining, with the processor, an average charge magnitude profile over the range of physical and/or chemical conditions based on the determined average charge magnitudes.

A water-containing simulated lunar soil preparation and water content measurement system and method is provided. The system includes a water-containing simulated lunar soil preparation unit, a low-pressure environment simulation unit, and a water content analysis unit. The water-containing simulated lunar soil preparation unit includes a preparation pipeline, a low-temperature lunar soil cold trap, and a low-temperature water ice cold trap. Both ends of the preparation pipeline are connected with the low-temperature lunar soil cold trap and the low-temperature water ice cold trap through a first opening and closing valve and a second opening and closing valve, respectively. The low-pressure environment simulation unit includes a low-pressure pipeline provided with a vacuum pump. Both ends of the low-pressure pipeline are connected with the preparation pipeline and the water content analysis unit through a first pneumatic valve and a second pneumatic valve, respectively.

A heating device having a heating element patterned into a robust MEMs substrate, wherein the heating element is electrically isolated from a fluid reservoir or bulk conductive sample, but close enough in proximity to an imagable window/area having the fluid or sample thereon, such that the sample is heated through conduction. The heating device can be used in a microscope sample holder, e.g., for SEM, TEM, STEM, X-ray synchrotron, scanning probe microscopy, and optical microscopy.

Methods for laser induced ablation spectroscopy are disclosed. A position sensor, and position motors can move a sample stage in three independent spatial coordinate directions, and a stage position control circuit can move an analysis sample site to selected coordinate positions for ablation. Light from laser ablation can be gathered into a lightguide fiber bundle that is subdivided into branches. One branch can convey a first portion of the light to a broadband spectrometer operable to analyze a relatively wide spectral segment, and a different branch can convey a second portion of the light to a high dispersion spectrometer operable to measure minor concentrations and/or trace elements. Emissions can be simultaneously analyzed in various ways using a plurality of spectrometers having distinct and/or complementary capabilities, and isotope analysis of a sample can be performed.

A sample injection device for sample collection and thermal desorption includes: a sample collection structure; a piston type adsorber having an adsorption cavity communicating with the sample collection structure; a piston cylinder defining a piston chamber accommodating the adsorber and communicating with the adsorption cavity; a thermal desorption chamber communicating with the adsorption cavity and the piston chamber; and a pump configured to pump a sample diffused in an ambient gas into the adsorption cavity through the sample collection structure and the piston chamber; the adsorber is movable between a sample collecting position where the adsorption cavity is outside the thermal desorption chamber and adsorbs the sample collected by the sample collection structure and a sample desorbing position where the adsorption cavity is inside the thermal desorption chamber so that the adsorbed sample is thermally desorbed in the thermal desorption chamber.

A cleanliness monitor for monitoring a cleanliness of a vacuum chamber. The cleanliness monitor may include a mass spectrometer, a molecule aggregation and release unit and an analyzer. The molecule aggregation and release unit is configured to (a) aggregate, during an aggregation period, organic molecules that are present in the vacuum chamber and (b) induce, during a release period, a release of a subset of the organic molecules towards the mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer is configured to monitor an environment within the vacuum chamber and to generate detection signals indicative of a content of the environment; wherein a first subset of the detection signals is indicative of a presence of the subset of the organic molecules. The analyzer is configured to determine the cleanliness of the vacuum chamber based on the detection signals.

Methods for determining the hardness and/or ductility of a material by compression of the material are provided as a first aspect of the invention. Typically, compression is performed on multiple sides of a geologic material sample in a contemporaneous manner. Devices and systems for performing such methods also are provided. These methods, devices, and systems can be combined with additional methods, devices, and systems of the invention that provide for the analysis of compounds contained in such samples, which can indicate the presence of valuable materials, such as petroleum-associated hydrocarbons. Alternatively, these additional methods, devices, and systems can also stand independently of the methods, devices, and systems for analyzing ductility and/or hardness of materials.

A method of static gas mass spectrometry is provided. The method includes the steps of: introducing a sample gas comprising two or more isotopes to be analyzed into a static vacuum mass spectrometer at a time, t.sub.0; operating an electron impact ionization source of the mass spectrometer with a first electron energy below the ionization potential of the sample gas for a first period of time that is following t.sub.0 until a time t.sub.1; and operating the electron impact ionization source with a second electron energy at least as high as the ionization potential of the sample gas for a second period of time that is after time t.sub.1. The first time period from t.sub.0 to t.sub.1 is a period corresponding to a period taken for the isotopes of the sample gas to equilibrate in the mass spectrometer. A constant ion source temperature is preferably maintained. Also provided is a static gas mass spectrometer.