A hardware and software system for the laser time-of-flight mass spectrometer

Abstract

The hardware and software system for a laser time-of-flight mass spectrometer is based on the double-level principle. At the upper level, the personal computer automatically controls online recording and processing of mass spectra with the highest priority. The monitoring and stabilization functions are fulfilled by controllers of the second control level. The exchange between the controllers and personal computer takes place in the periods between mass-spectrum recording and processing. The use of the hardware and software system has made it possible (i) to form short mass peaks with a half-height duration of up to 10 ns, (ii) to decrease a scatter of relative sensitivity coefficients from two or three down to one order of magnitude, and (iii) to increase a dynamic range of the recorded mass spectra up to 1−1 × 109.