Table 2-1 Panel Symbols (continued)
Description
Name
Color
LED
Lit when the system is in the Ready state. The
system must be in the Ready state to operate.
Ready
Green
Lit when the system encounters a system fault.
Fault
Red
After the system is turned on, all of the LEDs illuminate. The power LED remains lit. The other LEDs flash for two
seconds and then turn off. The vacuum LED starts flashing. After the correct vacuum level is achieved this LED
remains lit.
Theory of Operation
Mass spectrometry measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions to identify unknown compounds, to quantify known
compounds, and to provide information about the structural and chemical properties of molecules.
The TripleTOF
®
5600
+
system has a series of quadrupole filters that transmit ions according to their mass-to-charge
(
m/z
) value. The first quadrupole in this series is the QJet
®
ion guide, which is located between the orifice plate
and the Q0 region. The QJet
®
ion guide does not filter ions, but focuses them before they enter the Q0 region. By
prefocusing the larger ion flux created by the wider orifice, the QJet
®
ion guide increases instrument sensitivity
and improves the signal-to-noise ratio. In the Q0 region, the ions are again focused before passing into the Q1
quadrupole.
The Q1 quadrupole sorts the ions before they enter the Q2 collision cell. The Q1 quadrupole works in two operational
modes:
• Passing all ions within a specified
m/z
range to the Q2 collision cell. This is a TOF MS scan. All ions are analyzed
by the TOF system.
• Passing one ion with a specified
m/z
ratio to the Q2 collision cell. This is a TOF MS/MS scan. Only the selected
ion is analyzed.
In the Q2 collision cell, the internal energy of the ions is increased though collisions with gas molecules to the
point that molecular bonds break, creating product ions. This technique allows users to design experiments that
measure the
m/z
ratio of product ions to determine the composition of the parent ions and to provide information
about the structural and chemical properties of the molecules.
After passing through the Q2 collision cell, the ions enter the TOF region for additional mass analysis. They reach
the detector at different times depending on their
m/z
ratio. In the detector, the ions create a current that is
converted into a voltage pulse. These voltage pulses are counted and the number of pulses is directly proportional
to the quantity of ions entering the detector. The mass spectrometer converts the voltage pulses to a signal and
then correlates the signal to the time it takes each ion to reach the detector. The signal represents the ion intensity
and the time to reach the detector represents a specific
m/z
value. The mass spectrometer shows this data as a
mass spectrum.
System User Guide
TripleTOF
®
5600/5600+ System
RUO-IDV-05-7040-B
22 / 131
Principles of Operation
