Proceeding to the next Compartment

The simulation of ion trajectories has made a big move. Now we are in the next compartment, which houses the einzel lens(es).

This compartment is an intermediate stage between the gas-filled ion guide and the ultra-high-vacuum MR-ToF. The ion-neutral collisions can safely be left out, which means a lot for the simulation. We will not deal with randomness any more! The ion trajectories are more predictable and can easily be controlled by only einzel lens(es).

Announcement of Conceptual Design

The design concept of the stacked-ring-based ion guide has been finalised, along with its geometric and electric parameters being optimised.
The final version mainly features some unique characteristics as follows.

• The structure employs variable pitches to be associated with different inner radii.
• It begins with a focusing section to capture the quite divergent incoming ions as many as possible.
• Trapped ions are first slowed down to the thermal energy in the spacious thermalising section before transported to the ejecting section.
• Ion transport is realised by a travelling wave with the wavelength of 4 consecutive rings.
• Ion ejection takes place when the last 4 rings are independently but coordinately charged to the required potentials.

New design!

The code has been completely rewritten by using a number of advanced techniques in SIMION. A few noticeable improvements are

• All characterising parameters are centralised to the workbench program;
• The variables are renamed to emphasise readability and understandability;
• The workflow is clearer and simpler, essentially with only one button-push on Fly'm;
• The code is cost-efficient in memory usage and executing time.