High Resolution Silicon Strip Detectors for portable mass spectrometry

我们将开发一种基于高分辨率微带硅探测器作为传感元件的质谱仪。与现有技术相比，该方法有望显著提高质量分辨率和灵敏度。其目的是利用电场和磁场将注入的冷气体中的不同离子分离，随后将离子加速到足够的能量，在微带探测器中释放可探测信号。该仪器由待分析的冷气源（样品）、两个抽真空漂移段和传感装置组成。项目合作伙伴Q-T将建造并提供用于拟议仪器的最先进冷离子源。第一个漂移段长约5-10厘米，具有低可调谐电场（高达10 V/cm）和磁场，允许不同质量的离子在向加速段漂移过程中分离。这个加速部分（长度为15-20厘米，电场为500-1500 V/厘米）允许离子以足够的能量撞击传感元件，以记录确定撞击位置的信号。传感元件是具有128读出通道的硅微带探测器，分辨率小于10微米。电子器件的时钟速率为40MHz（或集成时间为25ns），传感器的总读出时间为3.2微秒。调整质量分离部分的电场以优化感兴趣区域的质量分离。通过对电场的扫描，这种小型仪器可以研究大范围的质量。

We will develop a mass spectrometer based on high resolution micro-strip silicon detectors as a sensing element. This novel approach intends to significant improve the mass resolution and sensitivity with respect to current technology. It aims to separate the different ions of the injected cold gas with an electric and magnetic field and subsequently accelerate the ions to sufficient energy to release detectable signal in the micro-strip detector. The instrument is comprised of a source of the cold gas to be analysed (sample), two evacuated drift sections and the sensing device. A state of the art cold ion source to feed in the proposed instrument will be built and provided by the project partner Q-T. The first drift section is about 5-10 cm long, with a low tuneable electric field (up to 10 V/cm) and a magnetic field to allow for separation of the ions with different mass during their drift toward the acceleration section. This acceleration section (with a length of 15-20 cm and an electric field of 500-1500 V/cm) allows impacting the ions onto the sensing element with sufficient energy to record the signal that determines the hit unambiguous position. The sensing element is a silicon micro-strip detector with 128 readout channel with a resolution of less than 10 micrometers. The clock rate of the electronics is 40MHz (or the integration time is 25 ns) and the total readout time for the sensor is 3.2 microseconds. The electric field in the mass separation section is tuned to optimise the mass separation in the region of interest. Scanning this electric field allows for studying a wide range of masses with this compact instrument.