Multiple active voltage stabilizations for multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy
• Physical Chemistry

Background:

• Multi-reflection time-of-flight (MR-ToF) mass spectrometry is a powerful technique for high-resolution mass analysis.
• Active regulation of electrostatic mirror potentials is crucial for maintaining and improving instrument performance.
• Fluctuations in mirror potentials can limit mass resolving power, particularly for low-abundance analytes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance enhancement of an MR-ToF mass spectrometer using active voltage feedback loops.
• To identify optimal electronic hardware configurations for parallel regulation of MR-ToF reflecting potentials.
• To quantify the improvement in mass resolving power for both low- and high-abundance ion species.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of four voltage feedback loops to actively regulate MR-ToF mirror potentials.
• Characterization of different electronic hardware for parallel potential regulation.
• Measurement of zinc cluster molecular isobars to assess resolving power for low-abundance species.
• Analysis of bismuth cluster ions to determine short- and long-term resolving power.

Main Results:

• Active feedback-loop regulation significantly improves mass resolving power, particularly for low-abundance ion species like zinc clusters.
• Resolving powers up to 500,000 (short-term) and 200,000 (long-term) were achieved with bismuth cluster ions without offline corrections.
• Feedback regulation demonstrated advantages for experimental cycle switching, such as during ion ejection.

Conclusions:

• Active voltage feedback loop regulation is an effective strategy for enhancing MR-ToF mass spectrometer performance.
• This approach leads to substantial gains in mass resolving power, expanding the capabilities for analyzing complex samples.
• The developed system offers improved stability and flexibility for advanced mass spectrometry applications.