ABSTRACT
Sometimes called the mass analyzer, it is the region of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) that separates the ions according to their mass-to-charge ratio. This chapter takes a look at the proximity of the mass analyzer in relation to the ion optics and detector. The mass analyzer is positioned between the ion optics and detector, and it is maintained at a vacuum of approximately 10 torr with an additional turbomolecular pump to the one that is used for the lens chamber. Assuming the ions are emerging from the ion optics at the optimum kinetic energy, they are ready to be separated according to their mass-to-charge ratio by the mass analyzer. There are basically three different kinds of commercially available mass analyzers: quadrupole mass filters, double-focusing magnetic sectors, and time-of-flight mass spectrometers.
