A Langmuir–Taylor detector, also called surface ionization detector or hot wire detector, is a kind of ionization detector used in

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is use ...

, developed by

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...

based on the work of

Irving Langmuir Irving Langmuir (; January 31, 1881 – August 16, 1957) was an American chemist, physicist, and engineer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932 for his work in surface chemistry. Langmuir's most famous publication is the 1919 art ...

and K. H. Kingdon.

Construction

This detector usually consists of a heated thin filament or ribbon of a metal with a high work function (typically tungsten or rhenium). Neutral atoms or molecules that strike the filament can boil off as positive ions in a process known as surface ionization, and these may be either measured as a current or detected, individually, using an

electron multiplier An electron multiplier is a vacuum-tube structure that multiplies incident charges. In a process called secondary emission, a single electron can, when bombarded on secondary-emissive material, induce emission of roughly 1 to 3 electrons. If an ele ...

and particle counting electronics.

Applications

This detector is mostly used with alkali atoms, having a low ionization potential, with applications in

and atomic clocks.

References

Mass spectrometry Particle detectors {{analytical-chem-stub