An ion source comprising a chamber and an electron collector is described. In one configuration, the chamber comprises a sample inlet and an ion outlet. The chamber may also include an electron inlet configured to receive electrons from an electron source. The electron collector can be arranged in opposition to the electron inlet. The chamber can be configured to direct an electron beam from the electron source along a path with the chamber transverse to a path between the gas inlet and the ion outlet. The chamber may comprise an ion guide that includes a guide axis offset from an axis of the ion outlet.

A mass analyzer includes two chambers for ionizing gas to form ions and/or introducing reaction gases to aid in ionization. A first chamber includes an electron to allow electron bombardment of a first gas. A second chamber receives a second gas and ions from the first chamber to allow interaction between the second gas, and the ions from the first chamber. The first and/or second gas may include analyte.

Apparatus (e.g., ion source), systems (e.g., residual gas analyzer), and methods provide extended life and improved analytical stability of mass spectrometers in the presence of contamination gases while achieving substantial preferential ionization of sampled gases over internal background gases. One embodiment is an ion source that includes a gas source, nozzle, electron source, and electrodes. The gas source delivers gas via the nozzle to an evacuated ionization volume and is at a higher pressure than that of the evacuated ionization volume. Gas passing through the nozzle freely expands in an ionization region of the ionization volume. The electron source emits electrons through the expanding gas in the ionization region to ionize at least a portion of the expanding gas. The electrodes create electrical fields for ion flow from the ionization region to a mass filter and are located at distances from the nozzle and oriented to limit their exposure to the gas.

Certain configurations of ionization sources are described. In some examples, an ionization source comprises an ionization block, an electron source, an electron collector, an ion repeller and at least one electrode configured to provide an electric field when a voltage is provided to the at least one electrode. Systems and methods using the ionization source are also described.

After a precursor ion has been captured within an ion trap (2), electrons having a high energy equal to or higher than 30 eV are introduced from an electron irradiator (7) into the ion trap (2) to increase the number of charges of the ion through an interaction between the electrons and the ion. Hydrogen radicals are subsequently introduced from a hydrogen radical irradiator (5) into the ion trap (2) to dissociate the ion by a hydrogen-attachment dissociation (HAD) method. The larger the number of charges of the ion is, the higher the dissociation efficiency by the HAD method becomes. Therefore, for example, even in the case of using an ion source in which most of the generated ions are singly charged ions as in a MALDI ion source, the dissociation efficiency can be improved by increasing the number of charges of the precursor ion within the ion trap (2).

Apparatus (e.g., ion source), systems (e.g., residual gas analyzer), and methods provide extended life and improved analytical stability of mass spectrometers in the presence of contamination gases while achieving substantial preferential ionization of sampled gases over internal background gases. One embodiment is an ion source that includes a gas source, nozzle, electron source, and electrodes. The gas source delivers gas via the nozzle to an evacuated ionization volume and is at a higher pressure than that of the evacuated ionization volume. Gas passing through the nozzle freely expands in an ionization region of the ionization volume. The electron source emits electrons through the expanding gas in the ionization region to ionize at least a portion of the expanding gas. The electrodes create electrical fields for ion flow from the ionization region to a mass filter and are located at distances from the nozzle and oriented to limit their exposure to the gas.

An ion source can include a magnetic field generator configured to generate a magnetic field in a direction parallel to a direction of the electron beam and coincident with the electron beam. However, this magnetic field can also influence the path of ionized sample constituents as they pass through and exit the ion source. An ion source can include an electric field generator to compensate for this effect. As an example, the electric field generator can be configured to generate an electric field within the ion source chamber, such that an additional force is imparted on the ionized sample constituents, opposite in direction and substantially equal in magnitude to the force imparted on the ionized sample constituents by the magnetic field.

A wide-range ion source for a mass spectrometer comprises a first portion and a second portion that is positioned downstream of the first portion. The first portion includes an anode and a first filament that is positioned proximate the anode and secured in place relative to the anode. The first filament is exposed to a pressure of a process chamber. A first electron repeller has at least a partially circular shape. The second portion includes a tubular anode, a second filament surrounding the tubular anode, an extraction lens defining an opening and a focus lens to conduct ions into a volume.

A method of operating a mass spectrometer comprising: detecting a first ion species using a first gain setting of a detector or a first emission current for a first mass-to-charge range; detecting a second ion species using a second gain setting of the detector or a second emission current for a second mass-to-charge range; and using the detected first and second ion species to calibrate the mass range of a mass analyzer of the mass spectrometer, to tune the resolution of the mass analyzer, or to tune an ion optic of the mass spectrometer.

Methods, devices, and systems for improving the quality of electrospray ionization mass spectrometer (ESI-MS) data are described, as are methods, devices, and systems for achieving improved correlation between chemical separation data and mass spectrometry data.