US 12,080,534 B2
Separating ions in an ion trap
Jason Lee Wildgoose, Stockport (GB); Keith Richardson, High Peak (GB); David J. Langridge, Bollington (GB); Martin Raymond Green, Bowdon (GB); and Steven Derek Pringle, Hoddlesden (GB)
Assigned to Micromass UK Limited, Wilmslow (GB)
Filed by Micromass UK Limited, Wilmslow (GB)
Filed on Jul. 20, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/869,016.
Application 17/869,016 is a continuation of application No. 17/090,073, filed on Nov. 5, 2020, granted, now 11,450,517.
Application 17/090,073 is a continuation of application No. 15/568,601, granted, now 10,861,687, issued on Dec. 8, 2020, previously published as PCT/GB2016/051159, filed on Apr. 25, 2016.
Claims priority of application No. 1506906 (GB), filed on Apr. 23, 2015; application No. 1506908 (GB), filed on Apr. 23, 2015; and application No. 1506909 (GB), filed on Apr. 23, 2015.
Prior Publication US 2022/0367162 A1, Nov. 17, 2022
Int. Cl. H01J 49/00 (2006.01); G01N 27/62 (2021.01); G01N 27/623 (2021.01); H01J 49/42 (2006.01)
CPC H01J 49/004 (2013.01) [G01N 27/62 (2013.01); G01N 27/623 (2021.01); H01J 49/4235 (2013.01); H01J 49/427 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of mass spectrometry, comprising:
spatially separating ions within a separating device according to a physicochemical property by applying a first force to the ions within the separation device in a first direction, said force having a magnitude that is dependent upon the value of said physicochemical property; and
applying a second force on these ions in the opposite direction, so that ions having different values of said physicochemical property are trapped in different regions of the separating device; and then driving ions out of the separating device and into a downstream ion mobility separator, wherein said driving ions out of the separating device comprises driving ions out of the separating device in order of decreasing value of said physicochemical property, or in order of increasing value of said physicochemical property, and such that said ions having different values of said physicochemical property that are trapped in said different regions of the separating device are driven to move together towards the ion mobility separator;
separating the ions in the ion mobility separator according to ion mobility;
passing the ions to a downstream resolving quadrupole, wherein the mass to charge ratios transmitted by the resolving quadrupole are scanned with time; and then
mass analysing ions in a time of flight mass analyser.