Time-of-flight analysers with sector fields: advances and prospects

This paper is devoted to the problem of using time-of-flight mass spectrometers with axially-symmetric electrostatic sector fields. The general theory of these analysers takes into account both magnetic and electrostatic fields. Time-of-flight mass analysers with electrostatic fields are considered as a particular case. The conditions of triple focusing are given and formulae for their calculation are presented. Some calculated characteristic data for such analysers demonstrate their capabilities. Results of analyser testing are also presented. A resolution of 1000 is demonstrated; this resolution can be increased up to 10,000 by correction of time aberrations.