Extrel MAX-LT flange mounted quadrupole mass spectrometers

The Extrel MAX-LT flange mounted quadrupol mass spectrometer systems offer high resolution and high sensitivity. The systems are mounted on a UHV compatible flange, and come with an ionizer, ion detector, quadrupole mass filter, controller, power supplies, and software.

The systems utilize Extrel’s high performance 9.5 mm rod Tri-Filter™ quadrupole mass filter and can be used as the foundation for a new MS system or incorporated to current systems for extended capabilities.

Key Features

The main features of the MAX-LT flange mounted quadrupol mass spectrometers are as follows:

• 9.5 mm quadrupole with pre-and post-filter
• All components in vacuum probe UHV compatible
• High abundance sensitivity: 1 x 106
• High sensitivity: 1.0 mA/Torr
• Pulse counting mode for enhanced S/N and for multi-channel scalar data acquisition
• Ionizer with cross beam arrangement available for photo ionization experiments
• Merlin automation data system with rapid data acquisition speed of 12,500 data pts/s
• Flexibility with imbedded macros for data acquisition and system control
• Negative ions option provived for pulse counting data acquisition

Applications

The main applications of the MAX-LT flange mounted quadrupol mass spectrometers are listed below:

• Emissions monitoring
• CVD process monitoring
• Dynamic SIMS
• Plasma monitoring
• Catalysis
• Scattering
• Laser ablation studies
• End point detection
• Residual gas analysis (RGA)
• Outgassing studies
• Flow tube detection
• Molecular beam studies
• Temperature programmed desorption (TPD)
• Combustion analysis
• Bakeout/vacuum pumpdown

Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD)

When gases desorb from a surface, they are ionized, examined, and compared with the temperatures at which they were desorbed. Small molecules, such as CO and H₂O, typically attract interest. The MAX-LT’s ionizer can be placed near the substrate to ionize even the low concentration desorbed compounds.

The system is able to manage a wide temperature range from many TPD sources with target temperatures ranging between 4 K and 1000 K. A shielded ion source helps to reduce neutrals in the chamber, minimizing the observed background during analysis.

The MAX-LT in a TPD application has excellent control of the ionizer to conduct “soft” ionization to maintain the molecular ion with fragmentation. The system maintains high sensitivity and outstanding confidence for the resulting data and mass spectrum.

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) studies are used to collect data about a surface being analyzed and can be categorized as dynamic or static. Dynamic SIMS is used for bulk analysis using an ion beam and quadrupole mass spectroscopy (QMS), such as the MAX-LT configured for SIMS applications.

The system has a conical aperture on the ionizer that can be placed near the substrate to gather and convey the secondary ions or ionize the desorbed neutral compounds in an effectively. The optional Extrel Energy Filter Ionizer allows researchers to distinguish between secondary ions and ionized neutrals in the chamber, guaranteeing that the resulting data is representative of the experiment.

The MAX-CS control system allows the researchers to have fine control of the ionizer to conduct “soft” ionization to preserve the molecular ion without fragmentation.

The optional Extrel Energy Filter Ionizer sets the LT-SIMS apart from the rest.

The Energy Filter Ionizer provides reduction in experimental noise and background in the mass spectrometer. It handles many sources of noise such as high energy ions (1 keV - 100 keV), which cannot be easily analyzed by a QMS, and has to be blocked from entering the analyzer.

The energy filter’s center stop keeps neutrals from entering the analyzer by impeding the line-of-sight. The cone aperture permits close placement to the target surface, which allows better sensitivity to the sputtered plume of ions. The on-axis energy filter performs a fine energy scan of <0.6 eV full width at half maximum (FWHM) resolution.

Software

Every MAX-LT is equipped with the Merlin Automation Data System™ software as standard. Merlin Automation is one of the most powerful and flexible research software commercially available, allowing complete user control over their system.

Users can gather, examine and conduct library searches on all data. Merlin Automation offers researchers the power to observe the complete workflow. From analyte monitoring in the chromatogram window, Centroid spectra or live Profile, to spectral comparison in the Mass Map window, it offers researchers maximum flexibility for their application.

When researchers look for a software package that enables them to perform quantitative measurements, data trending and security tracking, they select to Extrel’s Questor5™ Software. It is Extrel’s true quantitative software platform, providing unrestricted flexibility in automation and analysis design, all packaged with a user-friendly interface.

Questor5, paired with the performance and stability of Extrel’s MAX probe products, enables effortless quantitative data trending, with each component quantified and reported within 400 msec. Several labs are concerned about security issues, such as user tracking for downtime or validation due to unidentified operator failure.

To discover if information has been breached, the data logger is an ideal choice as it will report every user and every event, providing total traceability. The system also includes 21 CFR 11 compliance, for the pharmaceutical sector.

MAX-LT Specifications and Features

The main specifications and features of the MAX-LT are as follows: