A novel method for the collimation of ions at atmospheric pressure

Measured gains in source-to-target ion transmission of well over two orders of magnitude are reported from the application of a robust and versatile electrostatic lens that requires no voltage supply and consumes negligible power. When exposed to an ion flux across a potential gradient, a series of electrically-floating circular conductors automatically attain a profile of convergent potentials. This passive ion lens is used to collimate atmospheric ion source currents that range from 30 pA to 7 nA, increasing the ion signal strength at the target by factors of 20–130 times that of the unaided signal.