Fig. 2. Event sequence of experimental cycles. The vertical dashed lines symbolize (from left to right) the start signal, the end signal and the start signal of the next cycle.
Furthermore, by utilizing the RFQs and FLT, the API-MRTOF-MS can operate in bunch mode, resulting in higher duty cycle and enabling ion selection. In the typical continuous mode shown in Fig. 2 (FLT caps signal), ions are only utilized during ion filling time, and the duty cycle is determined by the ratio of filling time to cycle time. While in the bunch mode shown in Fig. 3, ions can be preserved by RFQ1, allowing for a 100% duty cycle. Moreover, by adjusting the pulse time of the FLT end cap, the instrument can choose ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio. Selectivity is vital for the analysis of processes, which often presents unique demands on analytical techniques, especially when dealing with complex samples. The high-resolution and fast mass analysis provided by API-MRTOF-MS will enable the analysis of transient processes. There are two ways that aid in progress: releasing unwanted small ions and preventing unwanted large ions from entering. Also, RFQ2 could act as a quadrupole for coarse ion selection. This section also addresses the issue of mass bandwidth improvement, which will be reported elsewhere in the near future.