Edward William Sheehan

6744041, Jun 1, 2004

Jun 8, 2001

09/877167

Edward W Sheehan - Pittsburgh PA, 15238
Ross C Willoughby - Pittsburgh PA, 15238

B01D 5944

250283, 250294

Improvements have been made for collection and focusing of ions generated from atmospheric pressure sources such as electrospray, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, inductively coupled plasma, discharge, photoionization and atmospheric pressure matrix assisted laser desorption ionization. A high transmission electro-optical surface is placed between the source regions and the focusing regions to optimize the field geometries and strengths in each respective region. Compression ratios of greater than 5000 are capable of transferring virtually all ions from large volume dispersive ion regions into ion beam cross-sections of less than 1 mm. Embodiments of this invention are methods and devices for improving sensitivity of mass spectrometry when coupled to atmospheric pressure ionization sources.

6781117, Aug 24, 2004

May 29, 2003

10/447645

Ross C Willoughby - Pittsburgh PA, 15238
Edward W Sheehan - Pittsburgh PA, 15238

B01D 5944

250281, 250287, 250282, 250288, 250298

An improved collison or reaction cell for collecting and focusing gas-phase ions in a mixture from an ion source or a mass analyzer into a gas-filled collision cell, inducing fragmentation or reaction of the ions by interaction with neutral or ionic gas-phase species, passing the resultant ionic products into another mass analyzer, determining the mass spectrum of the collision fragment ions to confirm the identity of the components in a mixture. The collision cell simultaneously provides collision gas confinements, precursor and product ion confinement, variability of collision energy, and variability of the DC drift field in the collision cell. Embodiments of this invention are methods and devices for improving the information content of chemical ionic species when coupled in tandem with mass analyzers.

6784424, Aug 31, 2004

May 25, 2002

10/155151

Ross C Willoughby - Pittsburgh PA, 15238
Edward W Sheehan - Pittsburgh PA, 15238

H01J 4926

250292, 250293, 250299

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for focusing, separating, and detecting gas-phase ions using the principles of quadrupole fields, substantially at or near atmospheric pressure. Ions are entrained in a concentric flow of gas and travel through a high-transmission element into a RF/DC quadrupole, through a second high-transmission element, and then impact on an ion detector, such as a faraday plate; or through an aperture with subsequent identification by a mass spectrometer. Ions with stable trajectories pass through the RF/DC quadrupole while ions with unstable trajectories drift off-axis collide with the rods and are lost. Embodiments of this invention are devices and methods for focusing, separating and detecting gas-phase ions without the need for a vacuum chamber when coupled to atmospheric ionization sources.

6818889, Nov 16, 2004

May 31, 2003

10/449147

Edward W. Sheehan - Pittsburgh PA, 15238
Ross C Willoughby - Pittsburgh PA, 15238

B01D 5944

250288, 250281, 250286

A thin laminated high transmission electro-optical lens populated with a plurality of apertures in communication with its laminates used to improve the collection, focusing, and selection of ions generated from atmospheric pressure sources, such as electrospray, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, inductively coupled plasma, discharge, photoionization and atmospheric pressure matrix assisted laser desorption ionization. The laminated lens is made of alternating layers of electrically insulating and metal laminates. The geometry of the lens may be planar or shaped into various curve shapes, any of which act to optimize the direct current (DC) electric field geometries and strengths across the lens for transferring virtually all the ions from the ion source into an ion-focusing region. Embodiments of this invention are methods and devices for improving sensitivity of mass spectrometry when coupled to atmospheric pressure ionization sources.

6878930, Apr 12, 2005

Feb 23, 2004

10/785441

Ross Clark Willoughby - Pittsburgh PA, US
Edward William Sheehan - Pittsburgh PA, US
Carolyn A Fries - St. Petersburg FL, US

H01J049/10
H01J037/00

250281, 250282, 250283, 250288, 250396 R, 250423 R

The present invention includes a delivery means of material to be deposited onto thin film surfaces with precise spatial, temporal, compositional, and energy resolution for controlled reactions, patterning (2-dimensional and 3-dimensional), and removal of materials or reaction products of materials from thin film surfaces. The device includes a near atmospheric pressure means of generating ions, ion clusters, or charged particles as a material form to deliver said materials onto substrate surfaces. The device relies on shaped, patterned, conformal ion lenses, and individually addressable lens elements of a lens arrays to create an integrated deposition system for printed patterns of thin films. The devices and methods provide a novel approach to delivering materials to a surface, removing materials from a surface, or creating new materials at or on the surface. These methods and devices may be used in applications of thin film deposition, micro-electronics and semi-conductor manufacturing, printing, surface interfacial layers, coating, painting, sample and reagent treatment, preparation for sensors, chemical analysis, and fabricating 2- and 3-dimensional structures and devices.

6888132, May 3, 2005

May 30, 2003

10/449344

Edward W Sheehan - Pittsburgh PA, US
Ross C Willoughby - Pittsburgh PA, US

H01J049/00

250288, 250281, 250286

An improved ion source for collecting and focusing dispersed gas-phase ions from a reagent source at atmospheric or intermediate pressure, having a remote source of reagent ions separated from a low-field sample ionization region by a stratified array of elements, each element populated with a plurality of openings, wherein DC potentials are applied to each element necessary for transferring reagent ions from the remote source into the low-field sample ionization region where the reagent ions react with neutral and/or ionic sample forming ionic species. The resulting ionic species are then introduced into the vacuum system of a mass spectrometer or ion mobility spectrometer. Embodiments of this invention are methods and devices for improving sensitivity of mass spectrometry when gas and liquid chromatographic separation techniques are coupled to atmospheric and intermediate pressure photo-ionization, chemical ionization, and thermospray ionization sources.

6914243, Jul 5, 2005

Jun 7, 2004

10/863130

Edward W. Sheehan - Pittsburgh PA, US
Ross C. Willoughby - Pittsburgh PA, US

B01D059/44
H01J049/00

250288, 250281, 250286, 250294, 250283

Improvements have been made for collecting, focusing, and directing of ions and/or charged particles generated at atmospheric or near atmospheric pressure sources, such as but not limited to, electrospray; atmospheric pressure discharge ionization, chemical ionization, photoionization, and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization; and inductively coupled plasma ionization. A multiple-aperture laminated structure is place at the interface of two pressure regions. Electric fields geometries and strengths across the laminated structure and diameters of the apertures; all of which act to optimize the transfer of the ions from the higher pressure region into the lower pressure region while reducing the gas-load on the lower pressure region. Embodiments of this invention are methods and devices for improving sensitivity of mass spectrometry when coupled to atmospheric, near atmospheric, or higher pressure ionization sources by reducing the gas-load on the vacuum system.

6943347, Sep 13, 2005

Oct 17, 2003

10/688021

Ross Clark Willoughby - Pittsbugh PA, US
Edward William Sheehan - Pittsburgh PA, US

H01J049/06

250288

An improved tube for accepting gas-phase ions and particles contained in a gas by allowing substantially all the gas-phase ions and gas from an ion source at or greater than atmospheric pressure to flow into the tube and be transferred to a lower pressure region. Transport and motion of the ions through the tube is determined by a combination of viscous forces exerted on the ions by the flowing gas molecules and electrostatic forces causing the motion of the ions through the tube and away from the walls of the tube. More specifically, the tube is made up of stratified elements, wherein DC potentials are applied to the elements so that the DC voltage on any element determines the electric potential experience by the ions as they pass through the tube. A precise electrical gradient is maintained along the length of the stratified tube to insure the transport of the ions. Embodiments of this invention are methods and devices for improving the sensitivity of mass spectrometry or ion mobility spectrometers when coupled to atmospheric and above atmospheric pressure ionization sources.