Mass spectrometry with cryogenic detectors

Cryogenic detectors have recently been applied for the first time as ion detectors in time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). Because of their energy sensitivity cryogenic detectors are expected to have near 100% efficiency even for very large, slow-moving molecules, in contrast to microchannel plates whose efficiency drops considerably at large mass. Thus, cryogenic detectors could contribute to extending the mass range accessible by TOF-MS and help improving detection limits. In addition, the energy resolution provided by cryogenic detectors can be used for charge discrimination and studies of ion fragmentation, ion–detector interaction, and internal energies of large molecular ions. Cryogenic detectors could therefore prove to be a valuable diagnostic tool in TOF-MS. Here I summarize the results of recent demonstration experiments.