A frequency and amplitude scanned quadrupole mass filter for the analysis of high m/z ions

Quadrupole mass filters (QMFs) are usually not used to analyze high m/z ions, due to the low frequency resonant circuit that is required to drive them. Here we describe a new approach to generating waveforms for QMFs. Instead of scanning the amplitude of a sine wave to measure the m/z spectrum, the frequency of a trapezoidal wave is digitally scanned. A synchronous, narrow-range (<0.2%) amplitude scan overlays the frequency scan to improve the sampling resolution. Because the frequency is the primary quantity that is scanned, there is, in principle, no upper m/z limit. The frequency signal is constructed from a stabilized base clock using a field programmable gate array. This signal drives integrating amplifiers which generate the trapezoidal waves. For a trapezoidal wave the harmonics can be minimized by selecting the appropriate rise and fall times. To achieve a high resolving power, the digital signal has low jitter, and the trapezoidal waveform is generated with high fidelity. The QMF was characterized with cesium iodide clusters. Singly and multiply charged clusters with z up to +5 were observed. A resolving power of ∼1200 (FWHM) was demonstrated over a broad m/z range. Resolution was lost above 20,000 Th, partly because of congestion due to overlapping multiply charged clusters. Ions were observed for m/z values well in excess of 150,000 Th.