Simulation of low-vacuum cylindrical ion trap mass spectrometry.

Low-vacuum mass spectrometry (MS) is desirable because it reduces the size, weight, cost, and power of the instruments. A method was developed that uses Langevin collision theory to simulate the trajectory of ions in a low-vacuum environment. A low-vacuum simulation platform of cylindrical ion trap MS was then built in COMSOL Multiphysics based on this method. In comparison with the traditional damping force model, this approach described the motion of ions more accurately. The sensitivity and resolution of the instrument were simulated under different operating modes. The adoption of a small mass background gas, a higher frequency for the radio frequency voltage, a smaller ion trap size and a higher temperature allowed mass analysis to be conducted under low vacuum. In addition, the results were applied to experiment measurements, and excellent mass spectra of organic compounds were obtained up to a maximum pressure of 2 Pa, showing the effectiveness of the results obtained from the simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]