Ionicioiu R. Interferometric Mass Spectrometry.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2023. [PMID:
37209116 DOI:
10.1021/jasms.3c00105]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a widely used technique with multiple applications, including geology, molecular biology, and archeology. In order to achieve a high dynamic range, AMS requires tandem accelerators and large magnets, which thus confines it to big laboratories. Here we propose interferometric mass spectrometry (Interf-MS), a novel method of mass separation which uses quantum interference. Interf-MS employs the wave-like properties of the samples and as such is complementary to AMS, in which samples are particle-like. This complementarity has two significant consequences: (i) in Interf-MS separation is performed according to the absolute mass m, and not to the mass-to-charge ratio m/q, as in AMS; (ii) in Interf-MS the samples are in the low-velocity regime, in contrast to the high-velocity regime used in AMS. Potential applications of Interf-MS are compact devices for mobile applications, sensitive molecules that break at the acceleration stage and neutral samples which are difficult to ionize.
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