El-Mul Detection Technology for TOFMS

Collaboration between El-Mul technology, MSC and Acqiris contributing to innovative high dynamic range TOFMS technology

Discover El-Mul Technology Poster High Dynamic Range Data Acquisition System for TOFMS, at ASMS24

ASMS24 poster session ThP 519

On Thursday, June 6 – Session Instrumentation: New Concepts - 10:30 - 11:30 am

Meet Amit Weingarten from El-Mul Technology who will present a poster resulting from the collaboration between El-Mul technology, MSC and Acqiris.

Poster Summary

Modern Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometers (TOFMS) generate strong repetitive signals, with maximal intensity reaching up to l=1E+4 ion/pulse/peak which intensity stresses the dynamic range of detectors and Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC). We present a high dynamic range data acquisition system employing several key components: an M-TOF hybrid detector by El-Mul, featuring a linear signal response up to 10 V and a long lifetime with peak widths under 1 ns; a switching dual gain amplifier with a synchronizing clock by MSC; and a single channel SA230P ADC by Acqiris. By leveraging the repetitive nature of the signals, the amplifier gain alternates over time, and signals are stitched online using a CPU. This system efficiently counts individual ions above a threshold with an 80% duty cycle, while maintaining a linear response for intense signals for l up to 5E+3, without degrading peak shape or mass accuracy.

The MTOF detector (El-Mul) utilizes an ion-to-electron converter, a fast scintillator, and a high-speed photomultiplier tube (PMT)/hybrid photodetector (HPD). The signal acquisition SA230P board (Acqiris) offers a 4 GS/s sampling rate, 14-bit vertical resolution, and a fast PCIe bus. A home-built GC-MRT system (MSC) incorporates a custom dual gain switching amplifier.
The amplifier switches between gains of x1/3 and x10 are time alternated at 8:2 shot pattern over 1 ms cycles. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) analyses were conducted across a wide range of sample injections, from 1 pg to 10 ng per species, using a 76-component MegaMix sample (Restek). Mass drift is compensated using a constant leak of PFTBA to verify mass accuracy and signal linearity, achieving a dynamic range DR>3E+6/s and l up to 5E+3.

Download the poster

El-Mul, part of Exosens, will attend ASMS 2024 - Learn more