Liquid flow rates from the ESI devices 20 are typically between 50 and 300 nL/min, in some particular embodiments. In some embodiments, ESI flow rates, e.g., typically <1 μL/min, may be used. Larger ESI emitters such as glass, quartz or metal capillaries with internal diameters greater than 100 μm can have liquid flow rates >1 μL/min.
Embodiments of the invention are directed to compact or miniaturized configurations of ion trap mass analyzers used in a device that determines ion mass to charge ratio and can additionally provide relative abundance information for a number of ions ranging across mass to charge values. The specific examples described herein are particularly relevant to ion trap mass analyzers such as the Paul trap, cylindrical ion trap (CIT), Stretched Length Ion Trap (SLIT), and the rectilinear ion trap, for example.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, the mass analyzer 30 comprises a at least one ion trap, e.g., in a respective array, such as between about 1-800, typically between about 5-256, more typically between about 5-50, including 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50, for example. In some embodiments, the ion trap 30 can have a stretched length ion trap (SLIT) configuration with a single trap or with multiple such traps. For the latter, where used, the number of traps can be between 2-50. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,878,127, to Ramsey et al., entitled “Miniature Charged Particle Trap With Elongated Trapping Region For Mass Spectrometry, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein. However, other ion trap aperture shapes and aperture array configurations may be used.