An ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) absorption spectrum has been obtained by exciting an ICR spectral segment with a fixed-frequency electric field pulse, followed by broad-band detection, digitization of the (time-domain) transient response, and digital Fourier transformation to produce the (frequency-domain) absorption spectrum. For a given signal-to-noise ratio and resolution, the FT-ICR method generates a spectrum in a time which is two orders of magnitude shorter than that required in conventional slow-sweep ICR detection. In the present example, a signal-to-noise ratio of 8:1 and a mass resolution of about 0.005 amu for CH 4 + (from CH 4 at a pressure of 8 X 10 −7 torr) have been achieved, using a single data acquisition period of 25.6 msec.
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