The principles and applications of time-of-flight mass spectrometry involving instruments with independent (orthogonal) axes for ion generation and mass analysis are reviewed. This approach, generally referred to as orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry, has proved particularly advantageous for the combination of continuous ionization sources with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The history of the technique is briefly discussed along with the instrumental principles pertaining to all the stages of the instrumentation from ion source to detector. The applications of commercial and customized instruments are discussed for several ionization methods including electrospray, matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization, electron ionization, and plasma ionization.

中文翻译：

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正交加速飞行时间质谱。

回顾了飞行时间质谱法的原理和应用，其中涉及具有独立（正交）轴的仪器，用于离子产生和质量分析。已经证明，通常将这种方法称为正交加速飞行时间质谱法，对于连续电离源与飞行时间质谱法的组合特别有利。简要讨论了该技术的历史以及与从离子源到检测器的所有仪器阶段有关的仪器原理。讨论了用于几种电离方法的商用和定制仪器的应用，包括电喷雾，基质辅助激光解吸/电离，电子电离和等离子体电离。