Apparatus for focusing a line type ion beam on a mass spectrometer analyzer

Claim 1

SPECTROMETRIC APPARATUS COMPRISING, SPACED POLE PIECE MEANS DEFINING A MAGNETIC FIELD ALIGNED ALONG A FIRST DIRECTION, MEANS ADJACENT TO THE REGION BETWEEN SAID POLE PIECE MEANS DEFINING AN INLET GAP HAVING ITS LENGTH ALIGNED ALONG SAID FIRST DIRECTION, MEANS ADJACENT TO THE LATTER REGION BUT SPACED FROM SAID INLET GAP DEFINING MEANS DEFINING AN OUTLET GAP HAVING ITS LENGTH ALIGNED ALONG SAID FIRST DIRECTION, MEANS DEFINING A LINE SOURCE OF IONS OUTSIDE SAID REGION ALIGNED GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FIRST DIRECTION, ACCELERATING ELECTRODE MEANS BETWEEN SAID SOURCE AND SAID INLET GAP DEFINING MEANS FOR DIRECTING RAYS OF IONS FROM SAID SOURCE TOWARD SAID INLET GAP, FOCUSING ELECTRODE MEANS BETWEEN SAID ACCELERATING ELECTRODE MEANS AND SAID INLET GAP DEFINING MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING AN ELECTRIC FIELD FOCUSING SAID RAYS SUBSTANTIALLY INTO A LINE SUBSTANTIALLY COINCIDING WITH SAID INLET GAP WHEN SAID IONS PASS THROUGH SAID GAP, AND COLLECTOR MEANS SEPARATED FROM SAID REGION BY SAID OUTLET GAP DEFINING MEANS FOR RECEIVING SAID IONS AFTER PASSING THROUGH SAID REGION AND SAID OUTLET GAP.