The M2 Ion Detector has been developed to achieve a fast time response and wide dynamic range within a small and compact package. This is achieved through the combination of a microchannel plate (MCP) and a metal channel dynode from a photomultiplier tube (PMT).
Typically, microchannel plates show fast time response characteristics, but are easily saturated due to their high resistivity. Conversely, an electron multiplier will exhibit a wider dynamic range, but a slower time response. However, by combining an MCP with Hamamatsu’s unique metal channel dynode structure, a detector with a rise time of just 1ns, and a time response of 2ns (FWHM) has been created. In addition, the metal channel dynode structure provides for excellent count rate linearity characteristics up to 50M counts per second, compared to 10M counts per second for a 2-stage MCP assembly.
The high speed and wide dynamic range of the M2 Ion Detector make it perfectly suited for both Q-MS (Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry) and TOS-MS (Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry).