What Is the Settling Time in an Analyst® Software Acquisition Method?

For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Answer

The settling time is defined as the time that a mass spectrometer pauses after finishing a cycle until it begins the next cycle. The instrument electronics require a settling time in order to function successfully, and this value can be set in an Analyst® software acquisition method on the Advanced MS tab of the Build Acquisition Method wizard.

If positive/negative switching is not used in the acquisition method, then the settling time denotes a one-time pause at the beginning of the cycle when the method starts. This time is added to the total scan time. 

For acquisition methods that contain positive/negative switching, then the value used for the settling time is instrument specific (e.g., 700 ms for a SCIEX 4000 QTRAP® LC-MS/MS system). The default settling time used in a positive/negative switching method depends on the instrument configuration selected in the hardware profile.