Ion sponge: A 3-dimentional array of quadrupole ion traps for trapping and mass-selectively processing ions in gas phase

In this study, the concept of ion sponge has been explored for developing 3D arrays of large numbers of ion traps but with simple configurations. An ion sponge device with 484 trapping units in a volume of 10 × 10 × 3.2 cm has been constructed by simply stacking 9 meshes together. A single rf was used for trapping ions and mass-selective ion processing. The ion sponge provides a large trapping capacity and is highly transparent for transfer of ions, neutrals, and photons for gas phase ion processing. Multiple layers of quadrupole ion traps, with 121 trapping units in each layer, can operate as a single device for MS or MS/MS analysis, or as a series of mass-selective trapping devices with interlayer ion transfers facilitated by AC and DC voltages. Automatic sorting of ions to different trapping layers based on their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios was achieved with traps of different sizes. Tandem-in-space MS/MS has also been demonstrated with precursor ions and fragment ions trapped in separate locations.