Matrix assisted
laser desorption /
ionization is performed in a manner to thermalize large
analyte ions in a plume of desorbed material for spectroscopic analysis. The thermalized ions have a low or
zero mean velocity and are presented at a well-defined instant in time, reducing artifacts and
sharpening the spectral peaks. In one embodiment the light is delivered to a matrix or sample holder having a cover, baffle or compartment. The baffle or compartment impedes or contains a plume of desorbed material and the
analyte undergoes collisions to lower its mean velocity and directionality. Thus "thermalized" the
analyte ions are passed to a
mass analysis instrument. In a preferred embodiment an
optical fiber butts up against a thin transparent plate on which the specimen resides, with the matrix side in a vacuum acceleration chamber. A mechanical stage moves the specimen in both the x- and y- directions to select a point on the specimen which is to receive the
radiation. The use of a
fiber optic illuminator allows the entire stage
assembly to be subsumed essentially within the dimensions of a conventional stage. In other embodiments, a thermalizing compartment is provided in a capillary tube about the end of the illumination
fiber and the sample matrix is deposited along the inner cylindrical wall of the tube, so the capillary forms a migration path to the outlet for thermalization of the desorbed analyte. In other embodiments microstructures having the shape of a small lean-to, overhang or perforated cover plate, or providing a high aspect surface texture, provide the necessary containment to promote thermalization of the released analyte. A
thin layer or cover of fibrous or permeable material may also be used to thermalize the analyte before
mass analysis, and in other embodiment this material may also act as the substrate. An automated instrument may include a fixed array of illumination fibers which are illuminated at different times to eject samples from a corresponding array of points on the specimen.