Considerations for Primary Vacuum Pumping in Mass Spectrometry Systems

Mass spectrometry systems have specific vacuum requirements. New developments in oil-free, or dry, primary vacuum pumps have been introduced recently and are discussed in this article with respect to capacity, throughput, and specific pumping requirements for process gases.

 There are many drivers for vacuum configuration in mass spectrometry (MS) and other scientific instrumentation applications. These include: vacuum performance of the primary pump itself (speed, compression, power, and so forth); environmental impact, power, construction, service interval, and the requirements (if any) for oil; regulatory compliance; cleanliness of the vacuum produced; and compatibility with process and target gases–vapors. MS systems have very specific vacuum (physics and engineering) requirements. The systems primarily considered here are liquid chromatography–MS (LC–MS), gas chromatography– MS (GC–MS) and inductively coupled plasma MS (ICP-MS). New developments in oil-free (dry) primary vacuum pumps have been introduced recently to the scientific instrument user markets and their impact is discussed below.

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