Understanding the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) ambient ionization source through optical means.

The advent of ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (ADI-MS) has led to the development of a large number of atmospheric-pressure ionization sources. The largest group of such sources is based on electrical discharges; yet, the desorption and ionization processes that they employ remain largely uncharacterized. Here, the atmospheric-pressure glow discharge (APGD) and afterglow of a helium flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) ionization source were examined by optical emission spectroscopy. Spatial emission profiles of species created in the APGD and afterglow were recorded under a variety of operating conditions, including discharge current, electrode polarity, and plasma-gas flow rate. From these studies, it was found that an appreciable amount of atmospheric H(2)O vapor, N(2), and O(2) diffuses through the hole in the plate electrode into the discharge to become a major source of reagent ions in ADI-MS analyses. Spatially resolved plasma parameters, such as OH rotational temperature (T(rot)) and electron number density (n(e)), were also measured in the APGD. Maximum values for T(rot) and n(e) were found to be ~1100 K and ~4×10(19) m(-3), respectively, and were both located at the pin cathode. In the afterglow, rotational temperatures from OH and N(2)(+) yielded drastically different values, with OH temperatures matching those obtained from infrared thermography measurements. The higher N(2)(+) temperature is believed to be caused by charge-transfer ionization of N(2) by He(2)(+). These findings are discussed in the context of previously reported ADI-MS analyses with the FAPA source.