[15p-4B-1~7] 11.5 Junction and circuit fabrication process, digital applications

[15p-4B-7] Improvement and Evaluation of a Superconducting Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry System

〇Kyosuke Sano^1,3, Tomoki Shimoda¹, Yuki Yamanashi¹, Nobuyuki Yoshikawa¹, Nobuyuki Zen², Masataka Ohkubo² (1.Yokohama Natl. Univ., 2.AIST, 3.JSPS)

Keywords:superconductor,single flux quantum circuit,mass spectrometry

We have been developing superconducting mass spectrometry systems, which is composed of superconducting strip ion detectors (SSIDs) and a single-flux-quantum (SFQ) time-to-digital converter (TDC). The ion sensitivity is high and constant even for high-mass molecules. The SFQ TDC can measure time intervals of multiple input signals from SSIDs with the time resolution of several picoseconds and directly convert them into binary data. By combining both superconducting devices, we can realize novel high-precision time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) systems for high-mass molecules. In previous study, we installed an SSID and an SFQ TDC into the same cryo-cooler. We obtained correct mass spectrums using this system. However, we also observed error spectrums. Digital errors of the SFQ TDC could be caused by electrical noises from a mass spectrometry device. In this study, we improved our superconducting TOF-MS system to eliminate the electrical noises.