ToF-AMS Main

The Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ToF-AMS) is a second generation instrument for the real-time measurement of size-resolved aerosol chemical composition. The ToF-AMS is commercialized by Aerodyne Research, and was developed by Aerodyne in collaboration with Tofwerk AG, the Jimenez Group at the University of Colorado, the Borrmann Group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, and the Coe Group at the University of Manchester.

It is based on the highly successful design of the first generation quadrupole-based system, the Q-AMS. The ToF-AMS differs from the Q-AMS in the replacement of the quadrupole mass filter, with a custom designed Tofwerk time-of-flight mass Spectrometer.

Note that the information in this Wiki and associated web pages is provided here with the hope that it is useful, but this is a volunteer project, and we cannot guarantee that everything is correct and up-to-date. Please contact Aerodyne directly to obtain the latest information.

Hardware

Manuals and Specifications

• Q-AMS Manual at Aerodyne.com
• Older Q-AMS Manual (pdf)
• Pump Control Manual
• Spec Sheets for TOF components (password protected)

FAQS

• FAQs for AMS Hardware
• FAQs for AMS Data Users

Procedures

• ToF-AMS Quick Start-up Checklist (xls)
• 2011 Ongoing Field Campaign Checklist (xls)
• 2013 SEAC4RS campaign final Checklist (docx)
• 2013 DC3 campaign final Checklist (docx) (older than prev., keep for reference)
• ToF-AMS Field Operation Guide
• AMS Vacuum Failure Plan (xls, Advanced, check with Aerodyne before trying)
• Vacuum System Startup Procedure
• Procedures to measure, calibrate and troubleshoot heater board voltages (ppt) (with thanks to Bill Brooks)

Software

Data Acquisition (DAQ)

• DAQ Home (Downloads, FAQs, Release Notes, and Feature Request)

Data Analysis

• Wiki
• Download Page (IE, SQUIRREL, PIKA)
• Squirrel and Pika Programming to do list

Data Analysis Resources

• ToF-AMS Field Data Analysis Guide
• HR-ToF Data Analysis Guide
  • HR Ion List history page
• AMS Elemental Analysis
• FAQs for AMS Analysis

Data Products

• FAQs for AMS Data Users

Reference Information

• Glossary of AMS related terms and acronyms

• AMS Users Meetings

• Drewnick et al., 2005 (paper that describes C-ToF-AMS)
• DeCarlo et al., 2006 (paper that describes HR-ToF-AMS)
• Canagaratna et al., 2007 (review paper on all AMS types and uses)
• Publications using all versions of the AMS (see list of key papers about different topics, at the top of the page)