A radio-frequency time-of-flight mass analyzer of ions with planar discrete electrodes

The focusing properties of a linear radio-frequency (RF) electric field and the results of their use for time-of-flight mass separation of polyenergetic ions are considered. A method for forming 2D linear RF fields by planar discrete electrodes with multiple distributed capacitive voltage dividers is proposed. An experimental prototype of an RF mass reflectron with planar discrete electrodes was created and investigated. The results of analytical calculations, computer simulations, and experiments are presented.