Study on simulation and experiment of array micro Faraday cup ion detector for FAIMS

An array micro Faraday cup ion detector for FAIMS (High-field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry) was introduced, with which the size of the FAIMS system was reduced. With simple structure, good stability, low noise, large measurements range, this detector can work under the condition of atmospheric pressure. The array micro Faraday cup was composed of gate electrode, sensitive electrode and shielding electrode. The sensitive electrode was made of tens of crossing silicon columns with diameter of 200 μm. It was fabricated through typical MEMS technology, which was compatible completely with plane FAIMS. It was shown from FLUENT simulation result that the resistance to gas motion was low and the flow field distribution was helpful for full absorption of the ion in this array design. Through electricity simulation, the method to reduce interference on the detection signal of the micro Faraday cup was given out. Connecting with KEITHLEY 237 ampere meter, the noise level of the array micro Faraday cup was lower than 0.5 pA. The output signal of the acetone sample measured by experiment was about 210 pA. Through contrast experiment, the design parameter of the micro Faraday cup was obtained primarily. This array micro Faraday cup can meet the requirements of the FAIMS system.