Segmented linear ion trap for enhanced ion activation and storage

1. A linear ion trap system comprising:

a linear ion trap having at least two discrete trapping regions for processing ions;

an RF electrical potential generator for producing two RF waveforms, each applied to a pair of pole electrodes of the linear ion trap forming a RF trapping field component to trap ions radially;

a multi-output DC electrical potential generator for producing a first set of multiple DC field components superimposed to the RF trapping field component and distributed across the length of the linear ion trap to control ions axially and for producing a second set of multiple DC field components distributed across the length of an ion mobility spectrometer; and

a control unit configured to switch the DC electrical potentials and corresponding DC field components collectively forming a first trapping region of the at least two discrete trapping regions that is populated with ions to alter ion potential energy from a first level to a second level, and to enable at least a first ion processing step in at least one of the first and second levels.

2. The linear ion trap system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to switch at least a portion of the DC electrical potentials and corresponding DC field components collectively to transfer processed ions away from the linear ion trap.

3. The linear ion trap system of claim 2 , wherein the linear ion trap is configured for connection in series to an ion mobility spectrometer that receives and separates ions processed in the linear ion trap.

4. The linear ion trap system of claim 3 , wherein the control unit is further configured to drive a gate for selecting a portion of the mobility separated ions.

5. The linear ion trap system of claim 4 , further comprising another RF electrical potential generator for producing two additional RF waveforms, each applied to electrodes of the ion mobility spectrometer forming a corresponding RF trapping field component, to enable trapping of the selected portion of mobility separated ions in the ion mobility spectrometer.

6. The linear ion trap system of claim 5 , wherein the control unit is further configured to lift the potential energy of trapped ions selected by the gate and to further switch at least one DC field component of the ion mobility spectrometer to enable transfer of selected ions back to the linear ion trap.

7. A mass spectrometer comprising:

a linear ion trap having at least two discrete trapping regions for processing ions;

a first RF electrical potential generator for producing two RF waveforms, each applied to a pair of pole electrodes of the linear ion trap forming a first RF trapping field component to trap ions radially;

an ion mobility spectrometer disposed in series with the linear ion trap and arranged for receiving and separating ions processed in the linear ion trap and for separating and selecting processed ions using a gate;

a second RF electrical potential generator for producing two RF waveforms, each applied to electrodes of the ion mobility spectrometer forming a second RF trapping field component to trap the selected processed ions radially;

a multi-output DC electrical potential generator for producing a first set of multiple DC field components superimposed to the first RF trapping field component and distributed across the length of the linear ion trap to control ions axially and for producing a second set of multiple DC field components distributed across the length of the ion mobility spectrometer; and

a control unit configured to (a) switch DC electrical potentials and corresponding DC field components collectively forming a first trapping region of the at least two discrete trapping regions that is populated with ions to alter ion potential energy from a first level to a second level, and to enable at least a first ion processing step in at least one of the first and second levels, and (b) switch DC electrical potentials and corresponding DC field components collectively of the ion mobility spectrometer to transfer back to the linear ion trap the processed ions selected by the gate of the ion mobility spectrometer.

8. The mass spectrometer of claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to transfer ions back to the linear ion trap by lifting the potential energy of the ions in the ion mobility spectrometer.

9. A method for processing ions in a linear ion trap defining a trapping field, the method comprising:

trapping ions in the trapping field of the linear ion trap produced by the superposition of a RF trapping field component for radial confinement of the ions and multiple DC field components for axial control of the ions;

distributing the multiple DC field components spatially along the axis of the linear ion trap to form at least two discrete trapping regions of the linear ion trap;

subjecting ions in a first of the at least two discrete trapping regions at at least a first potential energy level to at least a first processing step; and

altering ion potential energy by switching at least a portion of the multiple DC field components collectively to facilitate further processing of ions.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising receiving and separating ions processed in the linear ion trap by an ion mobility spectrometer connected in series to the linear ion trap.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising selecting a portion of the mobility separated ions and transferring the selected portion of the mobility separated ions back to the linear ion trap for further processing.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the transferring of the selected portion of the mobility separated ions back to the linear ion trap comprises lifting a DC electrical potential across a trapping region of the ion mobility spectrometer and switching at least one DC field component of the ion mobility spectrometer to enable transfer of the selected portion of the mobility separated ions back to the linear ion trap.