Abstract: An ion-mobility spectrometer system includes a housing with an upstream end, a downstream end, and a drift region defined along a longitudinal axis through the housing between the upstream and downstream ends. A first ionizer is operatively connected the housing to supply ions at the upstream end. A second ionizer is operatively connected to the housing to supply ions at the upstream end, wherein the first and second ionizers are both situated upstream of the drift zone relative to an ion flow path through the drift zone. An electric field generator is operatively connected to the housing to drive ions through the drift zone in a direction from the upstream end toward the downstream end. The second ionizer is a radioactive ionizer mounted to the housing at the upstream end positioned to direct irradiated ions into the housing.

Abstract: A method of performing x-ray spectroscopy surface material analysis of a region of interest of a sample with an evaluation system that includes a scanning electron microscope (SEM) column, an x-ray detector and an x-ray polarizer, comprising: positioning a sample within a field of view of the scanning electron microscope; generating an electron beam having a landing energy about equal to an ionization energy of the materials within the region of interest of the sample; scanning the region of interest with the electron beam set to collide with the sample thereby generating x-rays emitted from near a surface of the sample, the x-rays including characteristic x-rays and Bremsstrahlung radiation; and detecting x-rays generated while the region of interest is scanned by the electron after the x-rays pass through the x-ray polarizer that blocks a higher percentage of the Bremsstrahlung radiation than the characteristic x-rays.

Abstract: Systems and methods for in-die metrology using target design patterns are provided. These systems and methods include selecting a target design pattern based on design data representing the design of an integrated circuit, providing design data indicative of the target design pattern to enable design data derived from the target design pattern to be added to second design data, wherein the second design data is based on the first design data. Systems and methods can further include causing structures derived from the second design data to be printed on a wafer, inspecting the structures on the wafer using a charged-particle beam tool, and identifying metrology data or process defects based on the inspection. In some embodiments the systems and methods further include causing the charged-particle beam tool, the second design data, a scanner, or photolithography equipment to be adjusted based on the identified metrology data or process defects.

Abstract: A method for producing a body obtained by processing a solid carbon-containing material, the method includes: preparing the solid carbon-containing material composed of a material having at least a surface containing solid carbon; forming a gas phase fluid containing at least one of an active gas or an active plasma which are active against the solid carbon; and processing the solid carbon-containing material by injecting the gas phase fluid onto at least a part of the surface of the solid carbon-containing material.

Abstract: An ion confinement device (2) comprising: a plurality of electrodes arranged and configured for confining ions when an AC or RF voltage is applied thereto; and at least one inductive ballast (10a,10b), each ballast connected to at least some of said electrodes so as to form a resonator circuit therewith.

Abstract: A method of removing nuclear isobars from a mass spectrometric technique comprising directing ions, decelerating the ions, neutralizing a first portion of the ions, creating residual ions and a second portion of the ions, reionizing a selective portion of the ions, re-accelerating the selective reionized portion of ions, and directing the reionized portion of ions to a detector. An apparatus to remove nuclear isobars comprising a deceleration lens, an equipotential surface, an electron source to neutralize a portion of the ion beam, a deflector pair, a tunable resonance ionization laser for selective resonant reionization, and an acceleration lens.

Abstract: A method of operating a particle beam device for imaging, analyzing and/or processing an object may be carried out, for example, by a particle beam device. The method may include: identifying at least one region of interest on the object; defining: (i) an analyzing sequence for analyzing the object, (ii) a processing sequence for processing the object by deformation and (iii) an adapting sequence for adapting the at least one region of interest depending on the processing sequence and/or on the analyzing sequence; processing the object by deformation according to the processing sequence and/or analyzing the object according to the analyzing sequence; adapting the at least one region of interest according to the adapting sequence; and after or while adapting the at least one region of interest, imaging and/or analyzing the at least one region of interest using a primary particle beam being generated by a particle beam generator.

Abstract: Techniques for determining a microbial classification based on a mass spectrum are disclosed. A mass spectrometer generates a mass spectrum for a biological sample. A binning function is applied to the mass spectrum to generate a binned mass spectrum. As an example, a binned mass spectrum is associated with a set of bins having mass errors of the same value. A classification algorithm is applied to the binned mass spectrum to determine a microbial classification.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed at an antibody conjugate having an antibody and a tag, wherein one or more element(s) present in the antibody exhibit an isotope ratio which differs from the naturally occurring isotope ratio of the one or more element(s), wherein the amount of the isotope which is less-common in nature, is increased to at least 4% of the atoms of the respective element in the antibody, as well as uses thereof.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a device for filtering at least one selected ion from an ion beam includes a unit for creating an electric field for accelerating the ions of the ion beam along a flight path of predefinable length, and a controllable ion optical system, which delimits the flight path in one direction, and which is used to deflect the selected ion from a flight path of the ion beam. The device is further designed to control the ion optical system subject to a flight time of the selected ion along the flight path. The present disclosure also relates to a mass spectrometer having a device according to the present disclosure, and to a method for filtering at least one selected ion from an ion beam.

Abstract: Methods and system for identifying and quantifying antibody fragments and identifying the site of fragmentation on an antibody are provided herein.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods of identifying or certifying an animal that consumed a traceable diet comprising a C1 metabolizing microorganism.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a chemo-proteomic probe for labelling and monitoring a live microbe interacting with a host cell and for qualitative and quantitative analyses of those proteins involved during a microbe infects the host cell. This probe comprises a functional group for conjugating to a surface protein of a live microbe under a physiological condition; a photo-reactive group for covalent cross-linking to an interacting cell protein of a host; and a tag for isolating the cross-linked complex of the surface protein of said live microbe and the interacting protein of a host cell for qualitative and quantitative proteomics analyses. The probe may further comprise a visualization tag. This technology takes advantage of the high throughput feature of mass spectrometry analysis and combines it with a uniquely designed chemistry to achieve high efficient isolation and analysis of host cell proteins interacting with a pathogen at different stages of an infection.

Abstract: Apparatus comprise an electrode arrangement comprising a plurality of electrodes defining a volume, an ion entrance, and an ion exit, and a voltage source coupled to the plurality of electrodes and configured to apply a nonlinear DC voltage sequence to the electrodes between the ion entrance and the ion exit that directs ions through the volume with the volume at a pressure of at least 1 Torr. Ions can be focused using nonlinear DC voltage sequences, including at atmospheric pressure. Related methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: A chamber device may include a concentrating mirror, a central gas supply port, an inner wall, an exhaust port, a recessed portion, and a lateral gas supply port. The recessed portion may be on a side lateral to the focal line and recessed outward from the inner wall when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the focal line. The lateral gas supply port is formed at the recessed portion and may supply gas toward gas supplied from the central gas supply port so that a flow direction of the gas supplied from the central gas supply port is bent from a direction along the focal line toward the exhaust port and an internal space of the recessed portion.

Abstract: An ion detection system is disclosed that comprises one or more first devices 11 configured to produce secondary electrons in response to incident ions. The one or more first devices 11 comprise a first ion collection region and a second ion collection region and are configured to produce first secondary electrons in response to one or more ions incident at the first ion collection region and to produce second secondary electrons in response to one or more ions incident at the second ion collection region. The ion detection system also comprises a first output device 14 configured to output a first signal in response to first secondary electrons produced by the one or more first devices 11 and a second output device 15 configured to output a second signal in response to second secondary electrons produced by the one or more first devices 11.

Abstract: A mass spectrometry apparatus includes an ion detector and a control circuit coupled to the ion detector. The ion detector includes a pulse counting stage and an analog stage configured to generate a pulse counting signal and an analog signal, respectively, responsive to incident ions. The a control circuit is configured to output the pulse counting signal in a pulse counting output mode and to output the analog signal in an analog output mode. The control circuit is configured to switch from the pulse counting output mode to the analog output mode responsive to the pulse counting signal exceeding a first threshold within a range of about 10 million counts per second to about 200 million counts per second. Related devices and operating methods are also discussed.

Abstract: To provide a charged particle beam apparatus. The charged particle beam apparatus includes: a stage on which a sample is placed; a cleaner configured to remove a contaminant on the sample; and a stage control unit configured to adjust a relative positional relationship between the cleaner and the sample by moving the stage during use of the cleaner.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for single-cell imaging mass spectrometry (MS) by correlating an optical image of a cell sample with an MS image. The method of the invention is in particular useful in research to test concomitantly optical and molecular phenotypes at a single-cell resolution.

Abstract: An ionization probe connection jig used to connect an outlet-side flow path of a column 113 and an inlet-side flow path of an ionization probe 211 in a liquid chromatograph, the ionization probe connection jig includes: a first element fixture 10 fixed to a first element 113 that is one of the column 113 and the ionization probe 211; a second element fixture 20 fixed to a second element 211 that is the other; and a movement regulating tool 30 that permits the first element fixture 10 to advance in an axial direction of the first element 113 while regulating the first element 113 or the first element fixture 10 and the second element 211 or the second element fixture 20 such that flow paths of the first element 113 and the second element 211 are matched with each other, and regulates the second element fixture 20 such that the second element fixture 20 does not retreat beyond a predetermined position in a axial direction of the second element 211.