US Patent 11908675 Curved ion guides and related systems and methods

An ion guide includes a plurality of curved electrodes arranged along a curved central axis. The plurality of electrodes define a curved ion guide region, with the curved ion guide region beginning at an ion entrance and ending at an ion exit. The ion guide includes an ion deflecting device configured to apply a radial DC electric field across the ion guide region and along the curved central axis. The ion guide region has a radius of curvature that varies along the curved central axis, and the radius of curvature is at a maximum at the ion entrance and decreases along the curved central axis toward the ion exit.