Abstract
The qualitative and quantitative identification of low mass isotopes in the mass range 1–6 u poses certain difficulties when attempting to achieve the required resolution with an instrument suitable for deployment within a process environment. Certain adjacent species present in the process sample (HT and D2) require a resolution greater than 930 to achieve an accurate measurement. We demonstrate here through simulation techniques that this level of performance required is unachievable using commercially available instruments. Using previously reported simulation techniques, this article demonstrates how the required performance for resolving the low mass isotopes can be achieved by a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS), which incorporates a quadrupole mass filter (QMF) constructed from hyperbolic electrodes and operated in zone 3 of the Mathieu stability diagram.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dawson, P. H. The Mass Filter: Design and Performance, In Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry and Its Applications, Austin, W. E., Holme, A. E., Leck, J. H., Eds., Elsevier: Amsterdam 1976; pp 121–152.
Kay, G. W. C.; Laby, T. H. Fundamental Constants. In Tables of Physical and Chemical constants and some Mathematical Functions, Longman: London and New York, 1986; pp 14–16.
Ellefson, R. E.; Moddeman, W. E.; Dylia, H. F. Flydrogen Isotope Analysis by Quadrupole Mass Spectrornetry. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 1981, 18, 1062–1066.
Hiroki, S.; Abe, T.; Murakami, Y. Separation of Helium and Deuterium Peaks with a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer by Using the Second Stability Zone in the Mathieu Diagram. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1992, 63(8), 83874–3876.
Hiroki, S.; Abe, T.; Murakami, Y. Detection of a 10−4 Helium Peak in a Deuterium Atmosphere Using a Modified High-Resolution Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1994, 65(6), 1912–1917.
Frattolilio, A.; De Ninno, A. A Powerful Tool to Quantitatively Detect Tiny Amounts of 4He in a Deuterium Rich Background for Fusion Research. Proceedings of the 22nd IEEE Symposium on Fusion Engineering; Albuquerque, NM, June, 2007.
Hiroki, S.; Abe, T.; Murakami, Y. Sensitive Helium Leak Detection in a Deuterium Atmosphere Using a High-Resolution Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer. Vacuum 1996, 47(6/8), 767–769.
Day, C. The Use of a High-Resolution Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer System for Selective Detection of Helium and Deuterium. Vacuum 1998, 51(1), 21–30.
Du, Z.; Douglas, D. T.; Konenkov, N. Elemental Analysis with Quadrupole Mass Filters Operated in Fligher Stability Regions. J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 1999, 14(8), 1111–1119.
Hiroki, S.; Abe, T.; Murakami, Y.; Yanagishita, K.; Nakamura, S. Development of a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer Using the Second Stable Zone in Mathieu’s Stability Diagram. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1991, 62(9), 2121–2124.
Gibson, J. R.; Taylor, S. Prediction of Quadrupole Mass Filter Performance for Hyperbolic and Circular Cross Section Electrodes. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2000, 14, 1669–1673.
Bracco, G. Comparison of Quadrupole Mass Filters Equipped with Rods of Different Convexity: An Analysis by Finite Element Methods and Trajectory Simulations. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 2008, 278, 75.
Douglas, D. J.; Konenkov, N. V. Influence of the 6th and 10th Spatial Harmonics on the Peak Shape of a Quadrupole Mass Filter with Round Rods. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2002, 16, 1425–1431.
Gibson, J. R.; Taylor, S. Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Electrode Size on the Behavior of Quadrupole Mass Filters. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2001, 15, 1960–1964.
Hogan, T. J.; Taylor, S. Performance Simulation of a Quadrupole Mass Filter Operating in the First and Third Stability Zones. IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas. 2008, 57(3), 498–508.
Hogan, T. J.; Taylor, S. Effects of Mechanical Tolerances on QMF Performance for Operation in the Third Stability Zone. IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas. 2009, 99, doi:10.1109/TIM.2009.2028221.
Pearce, C. G.; Halsall, D. A Quadrupole Mass Filter with Flat Electrodes. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Phys. 1978, 27(1), 31–41.
Gibson, J. R.; Evans, K. G.; Taylor, S. Modeling Mass Analyzer Performance with Fields Determined Using the Boundary Element Method. J. Mass Spectrom. 2010, 45(4), 364–371.
Taylor, S.; Gibson, J. R. Prediction of the Effects of the Imperfect Construction of a QMS Filter. J. Mass Spectrom. 2008, 43(5), 609–616.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sreekumar, J., Hogan, T.J., Taylor, S. et al. A Quadrupole mass spectrometer for resolution of low mass isotopes. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 21, 1364–1370 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasms.2010.03.041
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasms.2010.03.041