SIEMENS ADVANCED QUANTRA FTICR MASS SPECTROMETER FOR ULTRA HIGH RESOLUTION AT LOW MASS
The Siemens Advanced Quantra Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer was evaluated as an alternative instrument to large double focusing mass spectrometers for gas analysis. High resolution mass spectrometers capable of resolving the common mass isomers of the hydrogen isotopes are used to provide data for accurate loading of reservoirs and to monitor separation of tritium, deuterium, and helium. Conventional double focusing magnetic sector instruments have a resolution that is limited to about 5000. The Siemens FTICR instrument achieves resolution beyond 400,000 and could possibly resolve the tritium ion from the helium-3 ion, which differ by the weight of an electron, 0.00549 amu. Working with Y-12 and LANL, SRNL requested Siemens to modify their commercial Quantra system for low mass analysis. To achieve the required performance, Siemens had to increase the available waveform operating frequency from 5 MHz to 40 MHz and completely redesign the control electronics and software. However, they were able to use the previous ion trap, magnet, passive pump, and piezo-electric pulsed inlet valve design. NNSA invested $1M in this project and acquired four systems, two for Y-12 and one each for SRNL and LANL. Siemens claimed a $10M investment in the Quantra systems. The new Siemens Advanced Quantra demonstrated phenomenal resolution in the low mass range. Resolution greater than 400,000 was achieved for mass 2. The new spectrometer had a useful working mass range to 500 Daltons. However, experiments found that a continuous single scan from low mass to high was not possible. Two useful working ranges were established covering masses 1 to 6 and masses 12 to 500 for our studies. A compromise performance condition enabled masses 1 to 45 to be surveyed. The instrument was found to have a dynamic range of about three orders of magnitude and quantitative analysis is expected to be limited to around 5 percent without using complex fitting algorithms. Analysis of low concentration ions, at the ppm level, required a separate analysis using ion ejection techniques. Chemical ionization due to the formation of the MH{sup +} ion or MD{sup +} increased the complexity of the spectra compared to magnetic sector mass spectra and formation of the protonated or deuterated complex was a dynamic function of the trap ion concentration. This made quantitative measurement more of a challenge. However, the resolution of the instrument was far superior to any other mass spectrometry technique that has been applied to the analysis of the hydrogen isotopes. The piezo-electric picoliter injection device offers a new way of submitting small quantities of atmospheric pressure sample gas for analysis. The new software had many improvements over the previous version but significant flaws in the beta codes remain that make the prototype units less than ideal. The instrument is a promising new technology that experience will likely improve. Unfortunately, Siemens has concluded that the technology will not be a commercial success and has decided to stop producing this product.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 935437
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-STI-2008-00161; TRN: US0804652
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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