Mass spectrometer with beam expander

1. A mass spectrometer comprising:

a first vacuum chamber;

a second vacuum chamber;

an RF ion confinement device located in the first vacuum chamber;

a Time of Flight mass analyzer arranged in the second vacuum chamber and downstream of said RF ion confinement device, said Time of Flight mass analyzer comprising an orthogonal acceleration extraction region;

an ion beam expander including a first Einzel lens arranged in said first vacuum chamber and a second Einzel lens arranged in said second vacuum chamber, said ion beam expander being arranged downstream of said RF ion confinement device, said ion beam expander being arranged and adapted to expand an ion beam which emerges, in use, from said RF ion confinement device so that said ion beam has a diameter or a cross-sectional width>3 mm in said orthogonal acceleration extraction region.

2. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said ion beam expander is arranged and adapted to expand said ion beam which emerges, in use, from said RF ion confinement device so that said ion beam has a diameter or a cross-sectional width of x mm in said orthogonal acceleration extraction region, wherein x is selected from the group consisting of: (i) 3-4; (ii) 4-5; (iii) 5-6; (iv) 6-7; (v) 7-8; (vi) 8-9; (vii) 9-10; (viii) 10-11; (ix) 11-12; (x) 12-13; (xi) 13-14; (xii) 14-15; (xiv) 15-16; (xiv) 16-17; (xv) 17-18; (xvi) 18-19; (xvii) 19-20; (xviii) 20-21; (xix) 21-22; (xx) 22-23; (xxi) 23-24; (xxii) 24-25; (xxiii) 25-26; (xxiv) 26-27; (xxv) 27-28; (xxvi) 28-29; (xxvii) 29-30; (xxviii) 30-31; (xxix) 31-32; (xxx) 32-33; (xxxi) 33-34; (xxxii) 34-35; (xxxiv) 35-36; (xxxiv) 36-37; (xxxv) 37-38; (xxxvi) 38-39; (xxxvii) 39-40; and (xxxviii)>40.

3. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said RF ion confinement device comprises an ion guide or ion trap.

4. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said ion beam expander comprises one or more Einzel lenses.

5. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said mass spectrometer further comprises a differential pumping aperture arranged between said first vacuum chamber and said second vacuum chamber.

6. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said Time of Flight mass analyzer comprises a pusher electrode and a first grid electrode, wherein said orthogonal acceleration extraction region is arranged between said pusher electrode and said first grid electrode, and wherein in use at least some ions located in said orthogonal acceleration extraction region are orthogonally accelerated into a drift region of said Time of Flight mass analyzer.

7. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the distance L between an ion exit of said RF confinement device and the longitudinal mid-point of said orthogonal acceleration extraction region is selected from the group consisting of: (i)>100 mm; (ii) 100-120 mm; (iii) 120-140 mm; (iv) 140-160 mm; (v) 160-180 mm; (vi) 180-200 mm; (vii) 200-220 mm; (viii) 220-240 mm; (ix) 240-260 mm; (x) 260-280 mm; (xi) 280-300 mm; (xii) 300-320 mm; (xiii) 320-340 mm; (xiv) 340-360 mm; (xv) 360-380 mm; (xvi) 380-400 mm; and (xvii)>400 mm.

8. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 6 , wherein said Time of Flight mass analyzer further comprises a second grid electrode arranged downstream of said first grid electrode, a field free region arranged downstream of said second grid electrode and upstream of an ion detector.

9. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said Time of Flight mass analyzer is arranged so that ions pass from said first grid electrode to said second grid electrode, through said field free region to said ion detector without being reflected in the opposite direction.

10. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said Time of Flight mass analyzer comprises a reflectron.

11. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said ion beam which emerges, in use, from said RF ion confinement device has a first cross section, a first positional spread and a first velocity spread and wherein said ion beam in said orthogonal acceleration extraction region has a second cross section, a second positional spread and a second velocity spread, and wherein:

(i) said second positional spread is greater than said first positional spread; or

(ii) said second velocity spread at a particular position is less than said first velocity spread at a particular position; or

(iii) a maximum diameter or maximum cross-sectional width of said first cross section is less than a maximum diameter or maximum cross-sectional width of said second cross section.

12. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said Time of Flight mass analyzer is arranged and adapted to analyse positive ions and said mass spectrometer further comprises a further Time of Flight mass analyzer arranged and adapted to analyse negative ions, wherein said further Time of Flight mass analyser is arranged adjacent to said Time of Flight mass analyzer.

13. A method of mass spectrometry conducted with a mass spectrometer including a first vacuum chamber, a second vacuum chamber, an ion beam expander having a first Einzel lens arranged in said first vacuum chamber and a second Einzel lens arranged in said second vacuum chamber,

an RF ion confinement device and a Time of Flight mass analyzer arranged downstream of said RF ion confinement device, said Time of Flight mass analyzer comprising an orthogonal acceleration extraction region, said method comprising:

expanding an ion beam which emerges from said RF ion confinement device with the ion beam expander so that said ion beam has a diameter or a cross-sectional width>3 mm in said orthogonal acceleration extraction region.

14. A mass spectrometer comprising:

a first vacuum chamber;

a second vacuum chamber;

a Time of Flight mass analyzer comprising an orthogonal acceleration extraction region;

said mass spectrometer further comprises an ion beam expander including a first Einzel lens arranged in said first vacuum chamber and a second Einzel lens arranged in said second vacuum chamber, said ion beam expander being arranged and adapted to expand an ion beam so that said ion beam has a diameter or a cross-sectional width>3 mm, >4 mm, >5 mm, >6 mm, >7 mm, >8 mm, >9 mm or >10 mm in said orthogonal acceleration extraction region.

15. A method of mass spectrometry conducted with a mass spectrometer including a first vacuum chamber, a second vacuum chamber, an ion beam expander having a first Einzel lens arranged in said first vacuum chamber and a second Einzel lens arranged in said second vacuum chamber, and

a Time of Flight mass analyzer comprising an orthogonal acceleration extraction region, said method comprising:

expanding an ion beam with the ion beam expander so that said ion beam has a diameter or a cross-sectional width>3 mm, >4 mm, >5 mm, >6 mm, >7 mm, >8 mm, >9 mm or >10 mm in said orthogonal acceleration extraction region.

16. A mass spectrometer comprising:

a first vacuum chamber;

a second vacuum chamber;

a device including a first Einzel lens arranged in said first vacuum chamber and a second Einzel lens arranged in said second vacuum chamber, said device being arranged upstream of a Time of Flight mass analyzer, said device being arranged and adapted to reduce the turnaround time of ions orthogonally accelerated into said Time of Flight mass analyzer.

17. A mass spectrometer as claimed in claim 16 , wherein said device comprises an ion beam expander.

18. A method of mass spectrometry conducted with a mass spectrometer including a first vacuum chamber, a second vacuum chamber, an ion beam expander having a first Einzel lens arranged in said first vacuum chamber and a second Einzel lens arranged in said second vacuum chamber, said method comprising:

reducing the turnaround time of ions prior to orthogonally accelerating said ions into a Time of Flight mass analyzer.