Understanding Mass Resolution of Foil‐Based Time‐of‐Flight Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

AbstractThe fractional mass uncertainty of linear, foil‐based time‐of‐flight space instruments is affected by the energy, path length, and timing uncertainties. Carbon foils are typically used in time‐of‐flight instruments to generate secondary electrons, but carbon foils also add unwanted effects to the instrument response. We present a complete characterization that studies the extent to which carbon foils degrade the mass resolution by parameterizing each component of the fractional mass uncertainty. Using the parametrization, the limiting factors of the fractional mass resolution are determined for a range of incident ion energies. The parametrization can be used as a tool for instrument developers to quickly assess the mass resolution and possibly mitigate the limiting factors of the mass resolution.