Results of a transient simulation of a drift tube ion mobility spectrometer considering charge repulsion, ion loss at metallic surfaces and ion generation

With optimized geometry and operating parameters both IMS selectivity and sensitivity can be significantly increased. However, finding these parameters and geometry requires an accurate knowledge of the electrical field and the ion concentration within the IMS at any time of operation. Furthermore, the ion loss at metallic surfaces and space charge effects caused by the moving ion cloud must be considered. This is particularly true when using non-radioactive electron emitters which generate a comparably high space charge density at electron currents similar to radioactive beta-sources due to their smaller ionization volume. This can lead to a reduced IMS resolution mainly caused by coulomb repulsion. In this work a transient model which enables a detailed view on the electric field within the IMS considering ion diffusion and migration as well as ion loss and coulomb repulsion is presented. This finite element model provides excellent agreement between simulated IMS spectra and experimental data especially when considering space charge effects and coulomb repulsion respectively. The model is used to design a short drift tube IMS with significantly improved resolution. Furthermore, this model allows considering ion-ion and ion-neutral reactions, such as ion generation, charge transfer reactions and ion-ion recombination. Moreover, fluid dynamics can be considered as required for modeling aspiration type IMS.