Design of a Portable, Battery-Powered Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer for Real-Time Sampling of Materials

We have designed and constructed a low cost, portable, battery-powered quadrupole mass spectrometer for use in the materials analysis of gaseous, liquid or solid field samples. The system may be configured for continuous sampling of ambient gas samples, or for the analysis of small solid, liquid or gas samples in sealed glass vials. The system is capable of measuring partial pressures down to the 10 Torr range, and may be operated on battery power for several hours in a field deployment. Information is presented on the specific design parameters and on the testing of the instrument. Preliminary results are reported for solid dinitrotoluene (DNT) and for chlorinated hydrocarbons and other contaminants in water.