Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (TOF): Determines species identification and fraction of multiply charged ions

A Time of Flight Mass Analyzer is a device often used at the end of a Parallel-Plate Energy Analyzer to distinguish between species and ionization states.  An electrostatic gate is used to close the entrance to the parallel-plate analyzer to plasma flow.  The gate is then opened momentarily (for times on the order of a few microseconds) to allow a puff of ions to travel down the drift tube.  Because ions of higher charge travel faster than singly charged ions, they will arrive at different times.  This allows the different ion charge states to be examined.