Continuous simultaneous detection in mass spectrometry

In mass spectrometry, several advantages can be derived when multiple mass-to-charge values are detected simultaneously and continuously. One such advantage is an improved duty cycle, which leads to superior limits of detection, better precision, shorter analysis times, and reduced sample sizes. A second advantage is the ability to reduce correlated noise by taking the ratio of two or more simultaneously collected signals, enabling greatly enhanced isotope ratio data. A final advantage is the elimination of spectral skew, leading to more accurate transient signal analysis. Here, these advantages are demonstrated by means of a novel Faraday-strip array detector coupled to a Mattauch-Herzog mass spectrograph. The same system is used to monitor elemental fractionation phenomena in laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.