Determining the Average Frequency of a Series of Pulses

Abstract

A method and device for determining an average frequency of a series of ion detection pulses (P) in a spectrometer can be applied to a measurement interval (MI). The method may comprise determining the duration of an auxiliary interval (AI1, AI2, . . . ), wherein the auxiliary interval overlaps the measurement interval, the auxiliary interval starts at the last pulse (P0) preceding the measurement interval (MI), and the auxiliary interval ends at the last pulse (PN) within the measurement interval. The method may further comprise determining the number of pulses during the auxiliary interval and dividing the number of pulses by the duration of the auxiliary interval so as to produce the average frequency. The method may be applied to a series of ion pulses produced by a voltage-to-frequency converter connected to a Faraday cup.

Claims

1. A method of determining in a spectrometer an average frequency of a series of ion detection pulses (P) during a measurement interval (MI), the method comprising: determining the duration of an auxiliary interval (AI), wherein the auxiliary interval (AI) overlaps the measurement interval (MI), the auxiliary interval (AI) begins at the last pulse (P0) preceding the measurement interval (MI), and the auxiliary interval (AI) ends at the last pulse (PN) of the measurement interval (MI); determining the number of pulses during the auxiliary interval; and dividing the number of pulses by the duration of the auxiliary interval so as to produce the average frequency (f.sub.AV).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in the absence of a pulse before the measurement interval (MI), the auxiliary interval (AI) begins at the beginning (BMI) of the measurement interval.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the absence of a pulse during the measurement interval (MI), the auxiliary interval (AI) ends at the end (EMI) of the measurement interval and the average frequency (f.sub.AV) preferably equals zero.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising repeating the method for consecutive measurement intervals (MI1, MI2, . . . ).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pulses (P) are produced by a voltage-to-frequency converter (153), the voltage-to-frequency converter preferably being coupled to a Faraday cup (141, 143, 145) for detecting ions.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pulses (P) are produced by a compact discrete dynode detector and/or a secondary electron multiplier detector.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the duration of the auxiliary interval (AI) comprises: determining the duration of a start interval (E) between the last pulse (P0) preceding the measurement interval (MI) and the beginning (BMI) of the measurement interval (MI), determining the duration of an end interval (F) between the last pulse (PN) of the measurement interval (MI) and the end of the measurement interval (EMI), adding the duration of the start interval to the duration of the measurement interval, and subtracting the duration of the end interval from the duration of the measurement interval to obtain the duration of the auxiliary interval (AI).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein determining the duration of the start interval (E) and/or determining the duration of the end interval (F) comprises using at least one timer, the method preferably further comprising resetting the at least one timer at each pulse.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the duration of the measurement interval (MI) is predetermined or is determined using a further timer.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the duration of the auxiliary interval (AI) comprises: starting a timer at the beginning of the auxiliary interval, and recording the value of said timer at the end of the auxiliary interval, wherein the recorded value of said timer represents the duration of the auxiliary interval.

11. The method according to claim 4, wherein determining the duration of a consecutive auxiliary interval (AI) comprises: starting a further timer at the beginning of the consecutive auxiliary interval, and recording the value of said further timer at the end of the consecutive auxiliary interval, wherein the recorded value of said further timer represents the duration of the consecutive auxiliary interval, and wherein the timer and the further timer are preferably used alternatingly.

12. A computer program product for determining in a spectrometer an average frequency of a series of ion detection pulses (P) during a measurement interval (MI), the computer program product including one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer programs instructed stored therein, the computer program instructions being configured such that, when executed by one or more computing devices, the computer program instructions cause the one or more computing devices to: determine the duration of an auxiliary interval (AI), wherein the auxiliary interval (AI) overlaps the measurement interval (MI), the auxiliary interval (AI) begins at the last pulse (P0) preceding the measurement interval (MI), and the auxiliary interval (AI) ends at the last pulse (PN) of the measurement interval (MI); determine the number of pulses during the auxiliary interval; and divide the number of pulses by the duration of the auxiliary interval so as to produce the average frequency (f.sub.AV).

13. A device for determining in a spectrometer an average frequency of a series of ion detection pulses (P) during a measurement interval (MI), the device comprising: Circuitry for determining the duration of an auxiliary interval (AI), wherein the auxiliary interval (AI) overlaps the measurement interval (MI), the auxiliary interval begins at the last pulse (P0) preceding the measurement interval, and the auxiliary interval ends at the last pulse (PN) within the measurement interval, circuitry for determining the number of pulses during the auxiliary interval, and circuitry for dividing the number of pulses by the duration of the auxiliary interval so as to produce the average frequency (f.sub.AV).

14. The device according to claim 13, further being arranged for receiving the pulses from a voltage-to-frequency converter, from a compact discrete dynode detector and/or from a secondary electron multiplier detector.

15. The device according to claim 13, wherein the circuitry for determining the duration of the auxiliary interval comprises: a start timer for determining the duration of a start interval (E) between the last pulse preceding the measurement interval and the beginning of the measurement interval, an end timer for determining the duration of an end interval (F) between the last pulse preceding the measurement interval and the beginning of the measurement interval, and a combinatorial circuit for adding the duration of the start interval (E) to the duration of the measurement interval (MI) and subtracting the duration of the end interval (F) from the duration of the measurement interval, to obtain the duration of the auxiliary interval, wherein the start timer and the end timer are preferably constituted by a combination of a single timer and a flip-flop, and wherein: a clear input of the single timer is arranged to receive the pulses (P), a data input of the flip-flop is connected to an output of the single timer, an enable input of the flip-flop is arranged to receive a measurement initiation pulse (MIP) representing the beginning of the measurement interval (MI), and the output of the single timer and the output of the flip-flop are each connected to an input of the combinatorial circuit so as to produce the difference (E−F) between the start interval and the end interval.

16. The device according to claim 13, wherein the circuitry for determining the duration of the auxiliary interval (AI) comprises: a first timer and a second timer for producing a first timer value and a second timer value respectively, a multiplexer for selecting one of the first timer value and the second timer value, a flip-flop for recording the selected timer value at the end of the auxiliary interval, and a logic unit for supplying control signals to the timers, the multiplexer and the flip-flop, wherein the device is arranged for: clearing the second timer at each detection pulse (P) during a first measurement interval, and clearing the first timer at each detection pulse (P) during a second, subsequent measurement interval, wherein the first timer value at the end of the first measurement interval represents the duration of the associated auxiliary interval.

17. A mass spectrometer comprising a circuit for determining an average frequency of a series of ion detection pulses (P) during a measurement interval (MI), the circuit comprising: circuitry for determining the duration of an auxiliary interval (AI), wherein the auxiliary interval (AI) overlaps the measurement interval (MI), the auxiliary interval begins at the last pulse (P0) preceding the measurement interval, and the auxiliary interval ends at the last pulse (PN) within the measurement interval; circuitry for determining the number of pulses during the auxiliary interval; and circuitry for dividing the number of pulses by the duration of the auxiliary interval so as to produce the average frequency (f.sub.AV).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0085] FIG. 1 schematically shows a mass spectrometer in which the invention may be applied.

[0086] FIG. 2 schematically shows part of the mass spectrometer of FIG. 1 in more detail.

[0087] FIG. 3 schematically shows a timing diagram of ion detection pulses according to the prior art.

[0088] FIG. 4 schematically shows a first timing diagram of ion detection pulses according to the invention.

[0089] FIG. 5 schematically shows a second timing diagram of ion detection pulses according to the invention.

[0090] FIG. 6 schematically shows a pulse processing arrangement according to the invention.

[0091] FIG. 7 schematically shows a first embodiment of a pulse frequency determination circuit according to the invention.

[0092] FIG. 8 schematically shows a second embodiment of a pulse frequency determination circuit according to the invention.

[0093] FIG. 9 schematically shows a timing diagram of the embodiment of FIG. 8.

[0094] FIG. 10 schematically shows a flow diagram of an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0095] The present invention provides methods and devices for determining the number of pulses of a series of pulses and/or the average frequency of a series of pulses, for example ion detection pulses and/or pulses produced by one or more voltage-to-frequency converters in response to ion detection signals. The number of pulses and/or the average frequency is to be determined during one or more time intervals, which are referred to as measurement intervals. The distribution of pulses during the measurement intervals may be random. To utilize the available time more efficiently, the invention proposes to use auxiliary time intervals which overlap the measurement intervals and are effectively synchronized with the pulses. According to the invention, the number of pulses during an auxiliary interval is divided by the duration of the auxiliary interval to arrive at the average frequency during the auxiliary interval. The auxiliary interval is chosen in such a way that the average frequency during the measurement interval equals the average frequency during the overlapping auxiliary interval. The average frequency thus determined can be a measure of an ion current in a spectrometer. The present invention thus allows an ion current to be determined accurately.

[0096] A mass spectrometer in which the invention may be applied is, by way of example, schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. The mass spectrometer 100 is shown to comprise an ion source 110, a beam focusing unit 120, a magnetic sector unit 130, a detector unit 140, and a detector signal processing unit 150. The ion source 110 may be a plasma source, such as an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, or a non-ICP source, such as a filament source. The ion source 110 is arranged for producing an original ion beam 101 which is focused by the beam focusing unit 120 to become a focused ion beam 102. The beam focusing unit 120 can comprise suitable ion optics which may be known per se. A mass filter (not shown) may optionally be arranged between the beam focusing unit 120 and the magnetic sector unit 130, see also the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 10,867,780.

[0097] In the magnetic sector unit 130, ions contained in the ion beam 102 may be separated according to their respective masses. Thus, the single focused ion beam 102 entering the magnetic sector unit 130 is split up into multiple ions beams 103 which may reach different detectors of the detector unit 140, allowing ions having different masses to be detected separately. The detector unit 140 produces ion detection signals IS which can be amplified and further processed in the signal processing unit 150, resulting in output signals OS which may include an average detection frequency per ion detector, and hence per ion mass range.

[0098] Instead of, or in addition to a sector field unit, such as the magnetic sector unit 130, a mass filter unit such as a multipole unit (for example a quadrupole unit) may be used.

[0099] Part of the mass spectrometer 100 of FIG. 1 is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. In particular, FIG. 2 schematically shows part of the detector unit 140 and part of the signal processing unit 150.

[0100] The detector unit 140 is shown to comprise Faraday cups (FC) 141, 143 and 145, and additional ion detectors (ID) 142, 144 and 146. The detector unit 140 may comprise more (or less) Faraday cups and/or more (or less) additional ion detectors than shown here. In the example shown, the additional ion detectors are each arranged next to a Faraday cup, but this is not essential. The additional ion detectors may comprise compact discrete dynodes (CDDs) and/or secondary electron multipliers (SEMs).

[0101] As is well known, Faraday cups and similar ion detectors produce small currents proportional to the number of impinging ions. These small currents, typically in a range from 1 fA to 1 nA, are converted into a voltage which is then amplified to produce an ion detection voltage. To this end, the signal processing unit 150 comprises an input resistor 151 which has a very large value, typically in a range from 100 GΩ to 10 TΩ. Such large resistor values are necessary to produce a suitable voltage for further processing: a current of 1 pA (10.sup.−12 A) flowing through a resistor of 1 TΩ(10.sup.+12Ω) produces a voltage across the resistor of just 1 V.

[0102] The detector current i.sub.D produced by the Faraday cup 141 is, in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2, fed through the input resistor 151 to ground and produces across the resistor 151 an input voltage V.sub.in for the amplifier 152. It is noted that the amplifier 152 is drawn here only schematically, and that the amplifier 152 may comprise an operational amplifier having the input resistor 151 in its negative feedback loop, thus connecting the resistor 151 to ground via the operational amplifier (virtual ground). It is further noted that only a single input resistor 151 and a single amplifier 152 are shown here for the sake of simplicity of the drawing, but it will be understood that each Faraday cup or similar detector 141, 143 and 145 of the detector unit 140 may be connected to an individual input resistor 151 and an individual amplifier 152. In some embodiments, two or more Faraday cups may share an input resistor and an amplifier. The ion detectors 142, 144 and 146 may each be connected to a discriminator, which may in turn be connected to a counter (not shown in FIG. 2).

[0103] The amplifier 152 produces an output voltage V.sub.out which may be equal to, or larger than the input voltage V.sub.in, for example 10 or 100 times larger. If the output voltage V.sub.out has substantially the same magnitude as the input voltage V.sub.in, the amplifier 152 may be used as a buffer only. The output voltage V.sub.out is fed to a voltage-to-frequency converter (VFC) 153, which produces pulses P with a frequency proportional to the voltage V.sub.out. It has been found that VFCs have a high degree of linearity which makes accurate detections possible. It is noted that detector signals originating from some types of detectors, such as compact discrete dynodes (CDDs) and/or secondary electron multipliers (SEMs), are typically not fed to a VFC.

[0104] The pulses P produced by the VFC 153 are fed to a pulse processing circuit 154 which determines the average frequency of the pulses produced by the VFC 153 during certain time periods, which will be referred to as measurement intervals. For each time period, the pulse processing circuit 154 produces an average frequency fA. The average frequency represents the number of ions that impinged upon the corresponding detector during that particular time period. To determine the average frequency, the pulse processing circuit may count the number of pulses during a time period, determine the duration of that time period, and divide the number of pulses by the duration, as will later be explained in more detail. A measurement interval timer 155 provides measurement interval pulses MIP to the pulse processing circuit 154. In an embodiment, the measurement interval timer 155 provides a measurement interval pulse MIP at the beginning of each measurement interval, that is, at each beginning of the measurement interval, as will later be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. The frequency of the measurement interval timer 155, and hence the duration of the measurement intervals, may be predetermined or set by a user. In some embodiments, the measurement interval pulses are generated externally to the signal processing unit 150 and the measurement interval timer 155 may be omitted.

[0105] A conventional method of determining an average frequency of ion detection pulses is schematically illustrated in FIG. 3, where the ion detection pulses P produced by the VFCs of each of the Faraday cups 141, 143 and 145 of FIG. 2 are shown as pulse series 201, 202 and 203 respectively. The respective average frequencies of each of these pulse series is determined during a measurement interval MI. To ensure a proper measurement, also when very few pulses are produced, counting the number of pulses during the measurement interval takes place in a shorter time interval which may be referred to as integration interval II. The integration interval Hof a series of pulses starts at the first pulse P1 of that series within the measurement interval MI. This leaves an initial gap G between the beginning of the measurement interval MI and the first pulse P1. In the example shown, an initial time gap G1 is present between the beginning of the measurement interval MI and the beginning of the first integration interval 111. As the pulses of a series are typically independent of the pulses of other series, the integration intervals of the respective series can start at different points in time, resulting in different initial gaps.

[0106] The integration intervals II1, II2 and II3 shown in FIG. 3 have an identical predetermined minimum length IImin but end at the first pulse PN following the minimum length (unless the interval having a minimum length ends at a pulse). This causes the integration intervals II1, II2 and II3 to have extensions D1, D2 and D3 respectively, which are shown as interrupted lines in FIG. 3. The first integration interval II1, for example, has a length equal to the minimum length IImin (indicated with a solid line) plus the time extension D1. A time interval IImin having a minimum duration is also schematically shown in FIG. 3. It is noted that the first pulse PN following the minimum length of the integration interval is not necessarily the last pulse within the measurement interval, this depends on the relative lengths of the integration interval and the measurement interval.

[0107] As the integration intervals start at different points in time and can have different lengths, they also end at different points in time. As can be seen in FIG. 3, after each integration interval follows a different final time gap H until the end of the measurement period MI. In the example shown, the first final time gap H1 after the first integration period II1 is greater than the third final time gap H3 after the third integration period II3. In the example shown, the second final time gap H2 is equal to zero, as the measurement interval MI is set to end when the last integration interval II ends. It will be clear that when more parallel series of pulses are processed than the three illustrated in FIG. 3, the lengths of the gaps will increase and the efficiency of the method will decrease.

[0108] In the conventional method of FIG. 3, the average frequency of the pulses of each measurement interval is calculated by counting the number of pulses during the corresponding integration interval, determining the duration of the integration interval (e.g. determining the sum of II1 and D1) and dividing the number of pulses by the duration of the integration interval. Although this method provides reliable results, it has the disadvantage that part of the measurement interval is not used. In particular, the initial time gap G (e.g. G3) and the final time gap H (e.g. H3) are not used, which causes the determination of the average frequency to be delayed. In addition, the pulses in the final gaps (H1 and H3 in the example shown) will not be included in the calculation. It is noted that the time gaps G and H may in practice be substantially larger than schematically illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0109] The invention seeks to overcome these disadvantages. An embodiment of the method of the invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 4. Similar to FIG. 3, three series of ion detection pulses P are schematically illustrated in FIG. 4: a first series 301, a second series 302 and a third series 303, which series occur in parallel and substantially simultaneously. As in FIG. 3, the average number of pulses is to be determined within a measurement interval MI. To this end, the invention utilizes auxiliary intervals AI during which the number of pulses P is counted. In the example shown, three auxiliary intervals AI1, AI2 and AI3 are shown. The measurement interval MI is shown to comprise a beginning BMI and an end EMI.

[0110] In contrast to the integration intervals of the prior art, illustrated in FIG. 3, the auxiliary intervals AI of the invention each start at the last pulse preceding the measurement interval. That is, each auxiliary interval typically starts before the corresponding measurement interval starts (in some embodiments, however, an auxiliary interval and a measurement interval may start at the same moment if a pulse coincides with the beginning of a measurement interval or even later if there is no preceding pulse, as will be discussed later). As a result, most auxiliary intervals comprise an extension slot E1, E2, E3 preceding the measurement interval. In FIG. 4, the extension slot E1 is a time period which is shown to start at the preceding pulse P0 and end at the beginning BMI of the measurement interval.

[0111] By starting the auxiliary intervals at the last pulse preceding the measurement interval, and thus introducing an extension slot preceding the measurement interval, an initial gap (such as G1 in FIG. 3) within the measurement interval and thus a loss of measurement time as in the prior art is avoided. As the auxiliary intervals start before the measurement intervals, or simultaneously with the measurement interval at the latest, it is no longer necessary to wait for the last integration period to start, which could take a relatively large amount of time if pulses appeared infrequently in a certain series.

[0112] In accordance with the invention, an auxiliary interval ends at the last pulse of the measurement interval, which is typically the last pulse within the measurement interval, unless there is no pulse during the measurement interval. This leaves a final slot F between the last pulse and the end EMI of the measurement interval, which is similar to the final time gap H of the prior art (see FIG. 3). However, as will be explained with reference to FIG. 5, the final slot F according to the invention is not necessarily wasted measurement time as in the prior art but may be utilized during the next measurement interval. It is noted that the final slot F may be referred to as end interval, while the extension slot E may be referred to as start interval.

[0113] Even when the final slot F is not utilized during the next measurement interval, it can be seen that the invention uses the measurement interval more effectively by starting at the preceding pulse P0 instead of at the first pulse P1.

[0114] As illustrated in FIG. 5, two (or more) measurement intervals MI1 and MI2 can be immediately adjacent to each other, without any intermediate gap, and use the advantages of the invention. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the end EMI1 of the first measurement interval MI1 coincides with the beginning BMI2 of the second measurement interval MI2. In accordance with the invention, the final slot (e.g. F3) in the first measurement interval MI1 is equal to the initial time gap (e.g. E3′) in the second measurement interval MI2. It can also be seen in FIG. 5 that the auxiliary interval (e.g. AI3′) of the second measurement interval MI2 immediately follows the auxiliary interval (e.g. AI3) of the first measurement interval MI1. As the invention allows the auxiliary intervals to be immediately adjacent, without any intermediate gap, no measurement time is wasted and the average frequency is obtained as quickly and accurately as possible.

[0115] Although in FIG. 5 only two subsequent measurement intervals are shown for the sake of simplicity of the drawings, it will be understood that more than two subsequent measurement intervals can be used, such as three, four, five, fifty or more measurement intervals without intermediate time gaps.

[0116] The arrangement 150 of FIG. 2 comprises a pulse processing unit 154 for receiving one or more series of pulses and producing an average frequency of each series of pulses. An exemplary embodiment of the pulse processing unit 154 is shown in more detail in FIG. 6. The pulse processing unit 154 of FIG. 6 is shown to comprise an interval duration determination unit 156 for determining the duration of an auxiliary interval, which auxiliary interval overlaps the measurement interval as shown in FIGS. 4 & 5, a pulse counter 157 for determining the number of pulses P during the auxiliary interval, and a division unit 158 for dividing the number of pulses by the duration of the auxiliary interval so as to produce the average frequency fay. The pulse counter 157 may be constituted by a commercially available counter while the division unit 158 may be constituted by a commercially available division circuit, or by a suitably programmed microprocessor. The interval duration determination unit 156 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 & 8.

[0117] The interval duration determination unit 10 of FIG. 7 may be used as (part of an) interval duration determination unit 156 as illustrated in FIG. 6. The unit 10 comprises a first counter 11, a second counter 12, a first register 13, a first adder 14, a second adder 15, and a second register 16. In the embodiment shown, the registers 13 & 16 are each shown as a single D-flip-flop for the sake of clarity, but each register may consist of a plurality of flip-flops or similar elements for storing a single bit, as the registers 13 & 16 are arranged to store values consisting of multiple bits. It is noted that instead of D-flip-flops, other types of flip-flops may also be used, for example SR-flip-flops. The unit 10 receives not only the detection pulses P but also measurement interval pulses MIP which indicate the beginning of a new measurement interval MI. Referring to FIG. 4, a measurement interval pulse MIP is produced at each measurement interval beginning BMI. The duration of the measurement intervals MI may be fixed or may be user controlled.

[0118] Both counters 11 & 12 receive a clock pulse a, which may have a frequency which is at least twice as high as the expected maximum frequency of the pulses P, preferably at least an order of magnitude higher. A frequency of approximately 10 MHz may be suitable for most applications, in other applications 20 MHz may be used, for example. The count input of both counters is connected to the logical level “1”, which typically is “high”, such as the supply voltage. As a result, both counters will count forward at the rate of the clock pulse a and the output N will reflect the counter value (it is noted that the output N preferably is a parallel output).

[0119] The first counter 11 will be cleared (that is, reset) at each measurement period pulse MIP. This implies that the output N of the first counter 11 will represent the time since the last measurement period pulse MIP. This value, the measurement interval duration MID, is provided to the input D of the second flip-flop 16 via the second adder 15.

[0120] Similarly, the second counter 12 will be cleared (that is, reset) at each detection pulse P, which implies that the output of the second counter 12 will represent the time since the last detection pulse P. At each measurement interval pulse MIP, the first flip-flop 13 will be enabled by receiving the pulse MIP at its enable input, as a result of which the counter value at its input D will appear at the output Q at the next clock pulse, typically at the next leading edge of the clock pulse (as noted before, the clock frequency is assumed to be significantly higher than the average frequency of the detection pulses P, so the output can be assumed to react instantaneously). The output Q of the flip-flop will therefore represent the time elapsed since the last detection pulse P (which cleared the second counter 12) at the time of the beginning of the measurement interval, in other words the start interval or extension slot E (for example E1 in FIG. 4). This extension slot E will be provided, via the adders 14 & 15, to the input D of the second flip-flop 16. Due to the adders, the duration of the extension slot E will be added to the measurement interval duration MID.

[0121] The output of the second counter 12 is supplied, via a negative (that is, subtracting) input of the first adder 14 and a positive (that is, adding) input of the second adder 15, to the input D of the second flip-flop 16. As the second flip-flop 16 is enabled by each measurement interval pulse MIP, its output Q will assume the value of its input D at the moment of the measurement interval pulse MIP. As the output of the second counter 12 represents the time elapsed since the last detection pulse P, this is the end interval or final slot F (for example, F1) in FIG. 4 (note that the first flip-flop 13 outputs the previous extension slot E). Accordingly, the first adder 14 produces the difference (E−F), such as the time difference (E1−F1) in FIG. 4, while the second adder 15 produces, at the moment of the measurement interval pulse MIP, the value (MID+(E−F)), which is output by the second flip-flop 16 as the auxiliary interval duration AID when the second flip-flop 16 is enabled by a measurement interval pulse MIP. As a result, the auxiliary interval duration AID of a measurement interval will be produced at the beginning of the next measurement interval. As the measurement intervals are typically consecutive, without an intermediate time gap, the auxiliary interval duration AID will be produced at the end of the corresponding measurement interval.

[0122] Thus, the interval duration determination unit 10 of FIG. 7 produces the time duration of the auxiliary interval according to the invention. Dividing the number of pulses in the auxiliary interval by this time duration produces the average frequency for that interval. It is noted the first counter 11 may be replaced by a buffer when the measurement interval duration has not to be determined by the interval duration determination unit, for example when it is known in advance.

[0123] The interval duration determination unit 20 of FIG. 8 may alternatively be used as (part of) interval duration determination unit 156 in FIG. 6. While in the embodiment of FIG. 7 the auxiliary interval duration AID is calculated using the measurement interval duration MID, the extension slot E and the final slot F, as expressed by the formula AID=MID+E−F, the embodiment of FIG. 8 uses counters to directly determine the duration AID of the auxiliary interval. Although it would be possible to use a single counter in some applications, it is preferred to use two counters which alternatively determine the length of an auxiliary interval in subsequent measurement intervals. That is, a first counter A determines the auxiliary interval duration associated with a first measurement interval (e.g. MI1 in FIG. 5) while a second counter B determines the auxiliary interval duration associated with a second measurement interval (e.g. MI2 in FIG. 5) which immediately follows the first measurement interval. By alternatingly using two counters, immediately adjacent auxiliary interval durations can be accurately determined. Using two counters additionally allows handling measurement intervals in which no pulses occur.

[0124] The interval duration determination unit 20 shown by way of non-limiting example in FIG. 8 comprises a logic unit 21, a first counter 22 (counter A), a second counter 23 (counter B), a multiplexer 24, a first registers 25 and a second register 26, both represented by D-flip-flops. The registers 25 & 26 may each comprise a plurality of flip-flops or similar elements for storing bits. The logic unit 21, which may comprise several logical gates and flip-flops, is arranged for receiving the detection pulses P, the measurement interval pulses MIP and the clock pulse a. The logic unit 21 is arranged for producing, from the received pulses, enable and clear signals for both counters 22 & 23, a select signal for the multiplexer 24 and a derived pulse signal P′.

[0125] The measurement interval pulses MIP are also supplied to the flip-flop 25, as will be explained later in more detail. The clock pulse a may have a frequency of, for example, 10 MHz or 20 MHz, although other frequencies may also be suitable, as long as the clock frequency is at least twice the (highest) frequency of the detection pulses P.

[0126] The functioning of the interval duration determination unit 20 of FIG. 8 will be explained with reference to the timing diagram of FIG. 9, where processing of a series 401 of detection pulses P is schematically illustrated. For the sake of clarity, only a single series of pulses P is shown in FIG. 9, but it will be understood that the method illustrated in the timing diagram of FIG. 9 can be applied to multiple parallel series of pulses. In the example of FIG. 9, the first counter A (22 in FIG. 8) is the active counter during the first measurement interval MI1, while the second counter B (23 in FIG. 8) is the “active counter” during the second measurement interval MI2, the term “active counter” referring here to the counter of which the output value is used during the particular measurement interval. In the example of FIG. 9, both counters can count during the measurement intervals, but not both their outputs will be used.

[0127] The logic unit 21 shown in FIG. 8 is arranged to supply an enable (En) signal, which allows the respective counter to be the “active” counter, to one or both of the first counter A and the second counter B during both measurement intervals. In the embodiment shown, both counters effectively count clock pulses during both measurement intervals, as a logical “1” or “high” signal is provided to their count inputs. However, the second counter B receives a clear signal at every detection pulse P during the first measurement interval, while the first counter A receives a clear (Clr) signal at every detection pulse P during the second measurement interval. As a result, the counter value of the first counter A increases during the first measurement interval MI1 until the end of the first measurement interval is reached, while its counter value is registered at each pulse P, by using the flip-flops 25. That is, after the first measurement interval MI1 the counter (or timer) value of the first counter (or timer) A represents the auxiliary interval duration AID. This output value of the first timer 22 is passed via the multiplexer 24 to the D-input of the first flip-flop (first register) 25. This flip-flop also receives the clock a and the derived pulse signal P′. This derived pulse signal P′ may either represent the occurrence of a pulse signal P or the (average) frequency of the pulses being equal to zero. The output signal of the first flip-flop 25 represents the output of the multiplexer 24 and may be referred to as multiplexer register MR. The actual value of MR may be equal to AID(A) or AID(B).

[0128] At each measurement interval pulse MIP, which marks the beginning of a new measurement period, the second flip-flop (second register) 26 is enabled and the value of the multiplexer register output by the first flip-flop 25 is output by second flip-flop 26. Thus, either AID(A) or AID(B) is output by the interval duration determination unit 20.

[0129] In accordance with the invention, the auxiliary interval AI includes the time period preceding the measurement interval from the last detection pulse, that is, the extension slot E in FIG. 9. At time to, the beginning of the first measurement interval MI1, the value of the first counter A represents the time since the preceding pulse P0. Similarly, at time t.sub.1, the beginning of the second measurement interval MI2, the value of the second counter B represents the time since the preceding pulse P0′. It is noted that the sloping interrupted lines in FIG. 9 represent the counter values and hence AID(A) and AID(B), while the stepped uninterrupted lines represent Multiplexer Register values MR at the output of the first register 25.

[0130] It can be seen that during the first measurement interval MI1, the value of the first counter A increases to reach the value AID(A) at the end of the first measurement interval MI1, that is, at time t.sub.1. Meanwhile, the value of the second counter B is reset at the first detection pulse P1 and at each subsequent detection pulse during the first measurement interval MI1. Additional gates may be provided to accommodate exceptions, such as the absence of any detection pulses during a measurement interval.

[0131] An exemplary embodiment of a method according to the invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 10. This embodiment of the method corresponds with the functioning of the interval duration determination unit 10 of FIG. 7.

[0132] The method 70 is initiated at 71, after which a measurement interval duration MID is determined at 72. A final slot F is determined at 73 while an extension slot E is determined at 74, see also FIGS. 4 & 5 where the extension slots E and the final slots F are shown. It is noted that the order of 73 and 74 is arbitrary and that the order of these actions may be reversed, or they may be carried out in parallel. At 75, the auxiliary interval duration AID is determined by using the formula AID=MID+E−F (see also FIG. 7 for the corresponding circuitry). In action 76, which may take place in parallel with at least some of the preceding actions, the number of detection pulses during the auxiliary interval is counted, resulting in the number NP. At 77, the average frequency f.sub.AV of the detection pulses is determined using the formula f.sub.AV=NP/AID. The method 70 may end at 78 or revert to action 72 to repeat the method for the next measurement interval.

[0133] The method of the invention may comprise determining an average frequency of pulses of at least two ion detectors, preferably at least two parallel ion detectors, in which case the method of the invention may be applied to the pulses generated by each ion detector. In some embodiments, three, four, five, six or more parallel ion detectors may be used, which may produce substantially simultaneous series of pulses. The parallel ion detectors may be of a single type or of two or more different types, such as Faraday cups, compact discrete dynodes (CODs), secondary electron multipliers (SEMs) and/or other detectors. It will be understood that the term “ion detector” may be generalized to “charged particle detectors”, as the detected particles may also comprise electrons, for example.

[0134] It is noted that a pulse produced by an ion detector or by an electron detector can itself have a certain non-zero duration. To determine the time durations of periods as accurately as possible, a pulse may be said to occur at its first edge (typically its rising edge). Thus, the time duration between two pulses may mean the time duration between the rising edges of those pulses.

[0135] The method of the invention may comprise determining a value representing an ion current, in particular an ion current in a spectrometer. The value representing an ion current may be a frequency, which may be measured during one or more measurement intervals. The method of the invention may comprise determining an average frequency of pulses in at least two consecutive measurement intervals. As mentioned above, those consecutive measurement intervals are preferably contiguous.

[0136] In the method of the invention, the first pulse and the last pulse may be identical, in which only a single pulse occurs in the measurement interval. In that case, the auxiliary interval starts at the preceding pulse and ends at the single pulse. It can be seen that the method of the invention still produces a correct result.

[0137] When in a measurement interval no single pulse occurs, the frequency may be determined to equal zero. However, in some embodiments the frequency of a measurement interval in which no pulse occurs may be determined by using at least one adjacent measurement interval, for example both the preceding and following measurement interval. If in those measurement intervals (e.g. the current, the preceding and the following ones) a pulse occurred, the average frequency may be determined to be the frequency of the measurement interval in which no pulse occurred, thus resulting in a non-zero frequency. If in those measurement intervals no pulse occurred, the average frequency may be determined to equal zero. Adjacent measurement intervals may alternatively, or additionally, include more than one measurement interval following the measurement interval concerned, for example two or three further measurement intervals.

[0138] It will be understood that a measurement interval is a measurement time interval or measurement time period while an auxiliary interval is an auxiliary time interval or auxiliary time period. The invention allows multiple simultaneous series of pulses from multiple channels to be processed.

[0139] A computer program product may comprise instructions allowing a processor to carry out the method steps described above. A computer program product may be intangible or may comprise a tangible carrier, such as a memory stick or other memory device.

[0140] Various embodiments of the invention may be summarized as follows: [0141] 1. A method of determining in a spectrometer an average frequency of a series of ion detection pulses during a measurement interval, the method comprising: [0142] determining the duration of an auxiliary interval, wherein [0143] the auxiliary interval overlaps the measurement interval, [0144] the auxiliary interval begins at the last pulse preceding the measurement interval, and [0145] the auxiliary interval ends at the last pulse of the measurement interval, [0146] determining the number of pulses during the auxiliary interval, and [0147] dividing the number of pulses by the duration of the auxiliary interval so as to produce the average frequency. [0148] 2. The method according to embodiment 1, wherein, in the absence of a pulse before the measurement interval, the auxiliary interval begins at the beginning of the measurement interval. [0149] 3. The method according to embodiment 1 or 2, wherein, in the absence of a pulse during the measurement interval, the auxiliary interval ends at the end of the measurement interval and the average frequency preferably equals zero. [0150] 4. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments, comprising repeating the method for consecutive measurement intervals. [0151] 5. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the pulses are produced by a voltage-to-frequency converter. [0152] 6. The method according to embodiment 5, wherein the voltage-to-frequency converter is coupled to a Faraday cup for detecting ions. [0153] 7. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the pulses are produced by a compact discrete dynode (CDD) detector and/or a secondary electron multiplier (SEM) detector. [0154] 8. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments, wherein determining the duration of the auxiliary interval comprises: [0155] determining the duration of a start interval between the last pulse preceding the measurement interval and the beginning of the measurement interval, [0156] determining the duration of an end interval between the last pulse of the measurement interval and the end of the measurement interval, [0157] adding the duration of the start interval to the duration of the measurement interval, and [0158] subtracting the duration of the end interval from the duration of the measurement interval to obtain the duration of the auxiliary interval. [0159] 9. The method according to embodiment 8, wherein determining the duration of the start interval and/or determining the duration of the end interval comprises using at least one timer. [0160] 10. The method according to embodiment 9, further comprising resetting the at least one timer at each pulse. [0161] 11. The method according to any of embodiments 8 to 10, wherein the duration of the measurement interval is predetermined. [0162] 12. The method according to any of embodiments 8 to 10, wherein the duration of the measurement interval is determined using a further timer. [0163] 13. The method according to any of embodiments 1 to 7, wherein determining the duration of the auxiliary interval comprises: [0164] starting a timer at the beginning of the auxiliary interval, and [0165] recording the value of said timer at the end of the auxiliary interval, wherein the recorded value of said timer represents the duration of the auxiliary interval. [0166] 14. The method according to embodiments 4 and 13, wherein determining the duration of a consecutive auxiliary interval comprises: [0167] starting a further timer at the beginning of the consecutive auxiliary interval, and [0168] recording the value of said further timer at the end of the consecutive auxiliary interval, wherein the recorded value of said further timer represents the duration of the consecutive auxiliary interval. [0169] 15. The method according to embodiment 14, wherein the timer and the further timer are used alternatingly. [0170] 16. A software program product comprising instructions allowing a processor to carry out the method according to any of the preceding embodiments. [0171] 17. A device for determining in a spectrometer an average frequency of a series of ion detection pulses during a measurement interval, the device comprising: [0172] circuitry for determining the duration of an auxiliary interval, wherein [0173] the auxiliary interval overlaps the measurement interval, [0174] the auxiliary interval begins at the last pulse preceding the measurement interval, and [0175] the auxiliary interval ends at the last pulse within the measurement interval, [0176] circuitry for determining the number of pulses during the auxiliary interval, and [0177] circuitry for dividing the number of pulses by the duration of the auxiliary interval so as to produce the average frequency. [0178] 18. The device according to embodiment 17, further comprising circuitry for receiving the pulses from a voltage-to-frequency converter. [0179] 19. The device according to embodiment 17 or 18, further comprising circuitry for receiving the pulses from a compact discrete dynode (CDD) detector and/or a secondary electron multiplier (SEM) detector. [0180] 20. The device according to embodiment 17 or 18, wherein the circuitry for determining the duration of the auxiliary interval comprises: [0181] a start timer for determining the duration of a start interval between the last pulse preceding the measurement interval and the beginning of the measurement interval, [0182] an end timer for determining the duration of an end interval between the last pulse preceding the measurement interval and the beginning of the measurement interval, and [0183] a combinatorial circuit for adding the duration of the start interval to the duration of the measurement interval and subtracting the duration of the end interval from the duration of the measurement interval, to obtain the duration of the auxiliary interval. [0184] 21. The device according to embodiment 20, wherein the start timer and the end timer are constituted by a single timer and a flip-flop, wherein: [0185] a clear input of the single timer is arranged to receive the pulses, [0186] a data input of the flip-flop is connected to an output of the single timer, [0187] an enable input of the flip-flop is arranged to receive a measurement initiation pulse representing the beginning of the measurement interval, and [0188] the output of the single timer and the output of the flip-flop are each connected to an input of the combinatorial circuit so as to produce the difference between the start interval and the end interval. [0189] 22. The device according to embodiment 21, further comprising an additional flip-flop, wherein: [0190] the combinatorial circuit is arranged to receive the duration of the measurement interval, [0191] a data input of the additional flip-flop is connected to an output of the combinatorial circuit, [0192] an enable input of the flip-flop is arranged to receive the measurement initiation pulse representing the beginning of the measurement interval, so that an output of the flip-flop produces the duration of the auxiliary interval. [0193] 23. The device according to embodiment 21 or 22, further comprising an additional timer for determining the duration of the measurement interval, wherein: [0194] a clear input of the additional timer is arranged to receive the measurement initiation pulse representing the beginning of the measurement interval, and [0195] an output of the additional timer is connected to an input of the combinatorial circuit, [0196] so that the additional timer supplies the duration of the measurement interval to the combinatorial circuit. [0197] 24. The device according to any of embodiments 17 to 19, wherein the circuitry for determining the duration of the auxiliary interval comprises: [0198] a first timer and a second timer for producing a first timer value and a second timer value respectively, [0199] a multiplexer for selecting one of the first timer value and the second timer value, [0200] a flip-flop for recording the selected timer value at the end of the auxiliary interval, and [0201] a logic unit for supplying control signals to the timers, the multiplexer and the flip-flop, [0202] wherein during a first measurement interval the second timer is cleared at each detection pulse, [0203] wherein during a second, subsequent measurement interval the first timer is cleared at each detection pulse, and [0204] wherein the first timer value at the end of the first measurement interval represents the duration of the associated auxiliary interval. [0205] 25. A mass spectrometer, comprising a device according to any of embodiments 17 to 24. [0206] 26. The mass spectrometer according to embodiment 25, further comprising at least one voltage-to-frequency converter and at least one Faraday cup. [0207] 27. The mass spectrometer according to embodiment 25 or 26, further comprising: [0208] at least one compact discrete dynode, and/or [0209] at least one secondary electron multiplier, and [0210] circuitry for counting pulses produced by the at least one compact discrete dynode and/or at least one secondary electron multiplier during a measurement interval. [0211] 28. A method of determining in a spectrometer the number of pulses of ion detection pulses during a measurement interval, the method comprising: [0212] determining the duration of an auxiliary interval, wherein [0213] the auxiliary interval overlaps the measurement interval, [0214] the auxiliary interval begins at the last pulse preceding the measurement interval, and [0215] the auxiliary interval ends at the last pulse of the measurement interval, and [0216] determining the number of pulses during the auxiliary interval.

[0217] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and/or described above and that many additions and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims.