Browsing by Author "Fukushima, Nobuhiko"

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    Analysis of Ion Motion and Diffusion Confinement in Inverted Drift Tubes and Trapped Ion Mobility Spectrometry Devices
    (ACS, 2019) Larriba-Andaluz, Carlos; Chen, Xi; Nahin, Minal; Wu, Tianyang; Fukushima, Nobuhiko; Mechanical and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    Ion motion in trapped ion mobility spectrometers (TIMS) and inverted drift tubes (IDT) has been investigated. The two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric analytical solution to the Nernst–Planck equation for constant gas flows and opposed linearly increasing fields is presented for the first time and is used to study the dynamics of ion distributions in the ramp region. It is shown that axial diffusion confinement is possible and that broad packets of ions injected initially into the system can be contracted. This comes at the expense of the generation of a residual radial field that pushes the ions outward. This residual electric field is of significant importance as it hampers sensitivity and resolution when parabolic velocity profiles form. When radio frequency (RF) is employed at low pressures, this radial field affects the stability of ions inside the mobility cell. Trajectories and frequencies for stable motion are determined through the study of Mathieu’s equation. Finally, effective resolutions for the ramp and plateau regions of the TIMS instrument are provided. While resolution depends on the inverse of the square root of mobility, when proper parameters are used, resolutions in the thousands can be achieved theoretically for modest distances and large mobilities.
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    Enhancing Separation and Constriction of Ion Mobility Distributions in Drift Tubes at Atmospheric Pressure Using Varying Fields
    (American Chemical Society, 2022-03-31) Chen, Xi; Latif, Mohsen; Gandhi, Viraj D.; Chen, Xuemeng; Hua, Leyan; Fukushima, Nobuhiko; Larriba-Andaluz, Carlos; Mechanical and Energy Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    A linearly decreasing electric field has been previously proven to be effective for diffusional correction of ions in a varying field drift tube (VFDT) system, leading to higher resolving powers compared to a conventional drift tube due to its capacity to narrow distributions midflight. However, the theoretical predictions in resolving power of the VFDT were much higher than what was observed experimentally. The reason behind this discrepancy has been identified as the difference between the theoretically calculated resolving power (spatial) and the experimental one (time). To match the high spatial resolving power experimentally, a secondary high voltage pulse (HVP) at a properly adjusted time is used to provide the ions with enough momentum to increase their drift velocity and hence their time-resolving power. A series of systematic numerical simulations and experimental tests have been designed to corroborate our theoretical findings. The HVP-VFDT atmospheric pressure portable system improves the resolving power from the maximum expected of 60–80 for a regular drift tube to 250 in just 21 cm in length and 7kV, an unprecedent accomplishment.
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    Modeling of an Inverted Drift Tube for Improved Mobility Analysis of Aerosol Particles
    (Springer NPG, 2017-07-25) Nahin, Minal; Oberreit, Derek; Fukushima, Nobuhiko; Larriba-Andaluz, Carlos; Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    A new mobility particle analyzer, which has been termed Inverted Drift Tube, has been modeled analytically as well as numerically and proven to be a very capable instrument. The basis for the new design have been the shortcomings of the previous ion mobility spectrometers, in particular (a) diffusional broadening which leads to degradation of instrument resolution and (b) inadequate low and fixed resolution (not mobility dependent) for large sizes. To overcome the diffusional broadening and have a mobility based resolution, the IDT uses two varying controllable opposite forces, a flow of gas with velocity v gas , and a linearly increasing electric field that opposes the movement. A new parameter, the separation ratio Λ = v drift /v gas , is employed to determine the best possible separation for a given set of nanoparticles. Due to the system’s need to operate at room pressure, two methods of capturing the ions at the end of the drift tube have been developed, Intermittent Push Flow for a large range of mobilities, and Nearly-Stopping Potential Separation, with very high separation but limited only to a narrow mobility range. A chromatography existing concept of resolving power is used to differentiate between peak resolution in the IDT and acceptable separation between similar mobility sizes.
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    Modeling of an Inverted Drift Tube for Improved Mobility Analysis of Aerosol Particles
    (Nature Publishing group, 2017-07-25) Nahin, Minal; Oberreit, Derek; Fukushima, Nobuhiko; Larriba-Andaluz, Carlos; Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
    A new mobility particle analyzer, which has been termed Inverted Drift Tube, has been modeled analytically as well as numerically and proven to be a very capable instrument. The basis for the new design have been the shortcomings of the previous ion mobility spectrometers, in particular (a) diffusional broadening which leads to degradation of instrument resolution and (b) inadequate low and fixed resolution (not mobility dependent) for large sizes. To overcome the diffusional broadening and have a mobility based resolution, the IDT uses two varying controllable opposite forces, a flow of gas with velocity v gas, and a linearly increasing electric field that opposes the movement. A new parameter, the separation ratio Λ = v drift/v gas, is employed to determine the best possible separation for a given set of nanoparticles. Due to the system’s need to operate at room pressure, two methods of capturing the ions at the end of the drift tube have been developed, Intermittent Push Flow for a large range of mobilities, and Nearly-Stopping Potential Separation, with very high separation but limited only to a narrow mobility range. A chromatography existing concept of resolving power is used to differentiate between peak resolution in the IDT and acceptable separation between similar mobility sizes.