Development of a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer-ion mobility spectrometer

In an effort to incorporate ion-molecule reaction chemistry with ion mobility measurements we designed and constructed a novel instrument that combines a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) mass spectrometer with an ion mobility drift cell and a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Measured mobilities for Ar+ and CO+ in helium are in excellent agreement with accepted literature values demonstrating that there are no adverse effects from the magnetic field on ion mobility measurements. Drift cell pressure, extracted from the measured mobility of Ar+ in helium, indicate that a pressure of similar to0.25 Torr is achieved in the present configuration. There are significant technological challenges associated with combining ICR and ion mobility that occurred during construction of this instrument, such as differential pumping and aperture alignment are presented. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(00)00310-5].