| abstract |
A mass spectrometer system for gas analysis comprises an ion pump (12) for creating an internal vacuum within said mass spectrometer, an ionization chamber (26), an inlet passage (14) through which a gas sample is introduced into the ionization chamber, extraction means a quadrupole filter (50) into which the ions and electrons are directed by the extractor plate (48), the quadrupole filter (50) being operative to permit a stream of ions with a pre-selected mass-to-charge ratio to pass through the filter while ions other than those having the pre-selected mass-to-charge ratio separate from the stream of ions, means for directing electrons toward ions other than those having the pre-selected mass-to-charge ratio in the area of said quadrupole filter (50) so that the electrons combine with the ions, a sensor (64) for detecting the stream of ions passing through the quadrupole filter (50), and analyzing means (80) connected with the sensor for analyzing the components of the gas sample. |