A 252Cf fission fragment-induced desorption mass spectrometer: Design, operation and performance

This time-of-flight mass spectrometer utilizes the ²⁵²Cf fission fragment-induced ionization of organic solids and electrostatic desorption. It is designed for the high sensitivity needed in the quantitative analysis of pharmaceuticals and can be combined with a high-performance liquid chromatograph. The solute emerges into a rough vacuum stage sampling up to twelve fractions in a vacuum-drying process. Samples with low vapor pressure are introduced periodically into the ion source by means of an interfacing disk and analysed successively. The sensitivity of ion detection employing conversion electrons and microchannel plates is investigated. The performance of the mass spectrometer is discussed in terms of mass resolution, efficiency and reproducibility.