Implementation of a flexible, open-source platform for ion mobility spectrometry

Reinecke, Tobias; Clowers, Brian H.

doi:10.1016/j.ohx.2018.e00030

Cited by 59 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Some designs are based on low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) [8]. Other designs use stacked electrode-insulator-pairs [6,9] or printed circuit boards [10,11]. However, the key challenge of miniaturization is to maintain the analytical performance of the IMS, which strongly depends on the geometrical dimensions of the drift tube [10,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Miniaturized high-performance drift tube ion mobility spectrometer

Ahrens

Hitzemann

Zimmermann

2019

Int. J. Ion Mobil. Spec.

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Developing powerful hand-held drift tube ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) requires small, lightweight drift tubes with high analytical performance. In this work, we present an easy-to-manufacture, miniaturized drift tube ion mobility spectrometer, which is manufactured from polyether ether ketone, stainless steel foils and printed circuit boards. It is possible to operate the drift tube IMS with a radioactive 3 H ionization source or a non-radioactive X-ray ionization source with 3 kVacceleration voltage. The drift tube design provides high resolving power of R p = 63 at a drift length of just 40 mm, 15 mm × 15 mm in cross-section (outer dimensions) and a drift voltage of 2.5 kV. The limits of detection for less than one second of averaging are 40 ppt v for dimethylmethylphosphonate and 30 ppt v for methyl salicylate. For demonstration, the miniaturized drift tube IMS is integrated into a stand-alone battery-powered mobile device, including a closed gas-loop, high performance driver electronics and wireless data transmission. In a proof-of-concept study, this device was tested in an international field evaluation exercise to detect the release of a volatile, hazardous substance inside a large entry hall.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Miniaturized high-performance drift tube ion mobility spectrometer

Ahrens

Hitzemann

Zimmermann

2019

Int. J. Ion Mobil. Spec.

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“…A significant advantage is that this technique works well in parallel with other mass analysis techniques [ 87 ]. Moreover, the technique can be performed at atmospheric pressures and already has cheap and rugged designs already created [ 88 , 89 ].…”

Section: Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving toward a Handheld “Plasma” Spectrometer for Elemental Analysis, Putting the Power of the Atom (Ion) in the Palm of Your Hand

Buckley

Doherty

2021

Molecules

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Many of the current innovations in instrument design have been focused on making them smaller, more rugged, and eventually field transportable. The ultimate application is obvious, carrying the instrument to the field for real time sample analysis without the need for a support laboratory. Real time data are priceless when screening either biological or environmental samples, as mitigation strategies can be initiated immediately upon the discovery that contaminant metals are present in a location they were not intended to be. Additionally, smaller “handheld” instruments generally require less sample for analysis, possibly increasing sensitivity, another advantage to instrument miniaturization. While many other instruments can be made smaller just by using available micro-technologies (e.g., eNose), shrinking an ICP-MS or AES to something someone might carry in a backpack or pocket is now closer to reality than in the past, and can be traced to its origins based on a component-by-component evaluation. While the optical and mass spectrometers continue to shrink in size, the ion/excitation source remains a challenge as a tradeoff exists between excitation capabilities and the power requirements for the plasma’s generation. Other supporting elements have only recently become small enough for transport. A systematic review of both where the plasma spectrometer started and the evolution of technologies currently available may provide the roadmap necessary to miniaturize the spectrometer. We identify criteria on a component-by-component basis that need to be addressed in designing a miniaturized device and recognize components (e.g., source) that probably require further optimization. For example, the excitation/ionization source must be energetic enough to take a metal from a solid state to its ionic state. Previously, a plasma required a radio frequency generator or high-power DC source, but excitation can now be accomplished with non-thermal (cold) plasma sources. Sample introduction, for solids, liquids, and gasses, presents challenges for all sources in a field instrument. Next, the interface between source and a mass detector usually requires pressure reduction techniques to get an ion from plasma to the spectrometer. Currently, plasma mass spectrometers are field ready but not necessarily handheld. Optical emission spectrometers are already capable of getting photons to the detector but could eventually be connected to your phone. Inert plasma gas generation is close to field ready if nitrogen generators can be miniaturized. Many of these components are already commercially available or at least have been reported in the literature. Comparisons to other “handheld” elemental analysis devices that employ XRF, LIBS, and electrochemical methods (and their limitations) demonstrate that a “cold” plasma-based spectrometer can be more than competitive. Migrating the cold plasma from an emission only source to a mass spectrometer source, would allow both analyte identification and potentially source apportionment through isotopic fingerprinting, and may be the last major hurdle to overcome. Finally, we offer a possible design to aid in making the cold plasma source more applicable to a field deployment.

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“…For large input capacitance, an op-amp with higher gain-bandwidth product (GBP) is desired to avoid failure related to stability [4], [14]. A large GBP and large transimpedance gain lead to very small values in the femto Farads for the feedback capacitor CF.…”

Section: Low Noise Transimpedance Amplifier Design Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transimpedance Amplifier Design for Millisecond Current Pulses

Arivalagan¹,

Britto²,

Vimala³

2021

DSA

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A 10 9 V/A gain, 5 kHz bandwidth transimpedance amplifier is designed and tested for noise limits close to the theoretical prediction. The amplifier is tested to amplify tiny current pulses coming out of Faraday cup detectors. Noise voltage referred to output (RTO) is measured and the input-referred current noise (RTI) is calculated and found to be 270 µVRMS and 12.4 fA/√𝐻𝑧 close to the theoretical limit of 246 µVRMS and 10 fA/√𝐻𝑧 . We have concentrated on the amplifier topology, choice of op-amp, the feedback resistor and other components to optimize noise. Special attention has been given to the reduce the parasitic capacitance of the printed circuit board (PCB) and feedback resistor RF package to further reduce and optimize the noise.

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Implementation of a flexible, open-source platform for ion mobility spectrometry

Cited by 59 publications

References 22 publications

Miniaturized high-performance drift tube ion mobility spectrometer

Miniaturized high-performance drift tube ion mobility spectrometer

Moving toward a Handheld “Plasma” Spectrometer for Elemental Analysis, Putting the Power of the Atom (Ion) in the Palm of Your Hand

Transimpedance Amplifier Design for Millisecond Current Pulses

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