Abstract
A new computer code ‘TRIO-TOF’ has been constructed. The code can calculate ion flight times in time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers to a third-order approximation. Ion-optical characteristics and focusing properties of time-of-flight mass spectrometers, which consist of toroidal electrostatic condensers and electrostatic quadrupole lenses, can be estimated by this code. The influences of the fringing field on ion flight times have been taken into consideration. The precise calculation of ion flight times in the fringing-fields has been also described.