As shown in FIG. 4D, the vacuum chamber wall 12w can define an electric barrier for the external portion of the microchip 20c, and can be at ground potential 127. Electrical and/or pressurized gas connections for ESI for causing transport of a sample through a processing channel and/or the electrospraying into vacuum chamber 12 can be made through and/or at the chip reservoirs 20r to pressurized gas supply or supplies 120p and/or a power supply or supplies 120.
For metal ESI capillaries 20t, a spray voltage can be applied to the capillary body. With glass, quartz, and/or insulating capillaries, a gold or other suitable conductive, typical metal, coating can be applied to the spray tip with the conductive coating exiting through the seal 18 into the environment external of the vacuum chamber 12. In some embodiments, the analysis system 100 can include a liquid junction that resides outside the vacuum chamber 12 where the ESI voltage can be applied.
In some embodiments, the ESI device 20 shown as a microfluidic chip 20c in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A, 4A, and 4D for example, can be instead a capillary tube 20t with the emitter 20e which resides outside of the vacuum chamber 12 and cooperates with the inlet device 15.