Temperature deformations in a thin-walled quadrupole electrode system with hyperbolic electrodes

Theoretical and experimental investigations of temperature deformations in a thin-walled singleunit quadrupole electrode system are described. A mathematical model describing similar deformations is presented. It is shown that heating leads to the deformation and symmetrical shift of all four electrodes. In this case, the electrodes retain their shapes, only the radius of the field changes. Furthermore, the thickness of the electrode system does not affect the shift value over the entire temperature range studied. This makes possible the selection of electrode thickness based only on the required mechanical strength and weight of the electrode system. An experiment is described, demonstrating the effect of high temperatures on the shape of a mass peak. The results show that the quality of the electric field formed by the electrodes is not degraded upon heating up to 200°C. Therefore, the proposed design of the electrode system retains the hyperbolic profile of the electrodes under heating, and this enables a mass spectrometer to operate at temperatures up to 200°C.