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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1998  > August  >
Information • Textbooks • Media • Resources
Understanding the Quadrupole Mass Filter through Computer Simulation
Colin Steel and Michael Henchman
Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254
Cover
August 1998
Vol. 75 No. 8
p. 1049
Abstract
The main features of the stability diagram for a quadrupole mass filter can be understood qualitatively using two concepts: (i) moderate RF voltages stabilize a trajectory; (ii) large RF voltages destabilize a trajectory. The trajectories of the ions traveling in the quadrupole are readily displayed pictorially for any set of operating conditions. These are computed as a straightforward student exercise, integrating numerically the equations of motion of the ion in the quadrupole electric field. The outcome of these trajectories-whether the ion is transmitted or deflected-allows us to map the stability diagram. The stability diagram reveals how the quadrupole acts as a mass filter and delivers a mass spectrum. The characteristic features of the trajectories are complicated and varied; and they are obtained for each region of the stability diagram. Explanations for some of these features are developed by examining the forces on the ion as it proceeds through the quadrupole.

Featured on the Cover
More Information
*  Citation
 Steel, Colin; Henchman, Michael. J. Chem. Educ. 1998 75 1049.
*  Keywords
 Instrumental Methods, Laboratory Instruction, Analytical Chemistry, Laboratory Equipment/Apparatus, Mass Spectrometry, Computer Assisted Instruction, Computational Chemistry
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 22, 1999
June 24, 2005
Link to Cover added (April 2004).
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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1998 > August > Page 1049


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