Ultra-High Resolution Ion Mobility Separations Utilizing Traveling Waves in a 13 m Serpentine Path Length Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations Module

We report the development and initial evaluation of a 13 m path length Structures for Lossless Manipulations (SLIM) module for achieving high resolution separations using traveling waves (TW) with ion mobility (IM) spectrometry. The TW SLIM module was fabricated using two mirror-image printed circuit boards with appropriately configured RF, DC, and TW electrodes and positioned with a 2.75 mm intersurface gap. Ions were effectively confined in field-generated conduits between the surfaces by RF-generated pseudopotential fields and moved losslessly through a serpentine path including 44 “U” turns using TWs. The ion mobility resolution was characterized at different pressures, gaps between the SLIM surfaces, and TW and RF parameters. After initial optimization, the SLIM IM-MS module provided about 5-fold higher resolution separations than present commercially available drift tube or traveling wave IM-MS platforms. Peak capacity and peak generation rates achieved were 246 and 370 s–1, respectively, at a TW sp...