Long-Distance Detection of Laser-Produced Ions by a Reflectron Mass Spectrometer

Abstract

Laser-produced ions were detected and analyzed remotely by a reflectron mass spectrometer for determination of the elemental composition. Detection of ions at 3.9 m from the target was accomplished. Elemental and isotopic mass spectra of aluminum, germanium, copper, silver, and complex targets such as a lunar simulant and Standard Reference Material 1834 were mass-analyzed at 1 × 109 W/cm2 (0.02 wt % detection limit), giving good correlation with manufacturers' stated elemental composition and yield. Mass spectra could be obtained in a single laser pulse. The mass resolution is 62 at mass 63 and 77 at mass 28. Such a system could be extended to a remote laser mass spectrometer on a lunar rover or satellite for planetary surface mass analysis.

Recent Advances in Instrumental Approaches to Time‐of‐flight Mass Spectrometry

“…Indeed, the SOHO observatory (Hovestadt et al, 1995) carries a TOFMS, as well as the Phobos mission (Managadze et al, 2010), as did the Rosetta Orbiter mission to the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (Balsiger et al, 2007). More recently, direct laser-ionization coupled with TOFMS has become particularly useful for in situ planetary solids analysis (Situ & De Young, 1995). To date, several miniature laser ionization TOFMS (LI-TOFMS) instruments have been developed based on similar coaxially symmetric instrument geometries.…”

A miniature laser ablation time-of-flight mass spectrometer forin situplanetary exploration

“…LIMA-D, flown on the Russian Phobos mission, was a stand-off instrument intended to operate tens of meters from the surface and had a mass of about 80 kg [4]. Trials of another proposed stand-off instrument with both ion trap and reflectron TOF mass analysers were also carried out [5,6]. Laboratory prototypes for in situ measurements in the 2 kg range (suitable for deployment on a planetary rover) have been developed more recently [7][8][9] and precisions of better than 10% for elemental abundances, and 30 for isotopic compositions have been demonstrated with detection limits of better than 10 ppm.…”

Ion extraction effects on the in-depth analysis of layered samples by time-of-flight mass spectrometry of laser-induced plasmas

“…In recent years, the vigorous development of new and very stable laser sources and the availability of fast transient detectors have produced a renaissance of the technique and the launch of new applications in various fields. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] One field where LPP are particularly suitable is depth profiling of solid samples. Depth profiling of layered materials is used to distinguish between the different coatings and the sample matrix.…”