
Chapter 6 Acquiring Mass Spectra
6-16 PerSeptive Biosystems
6
During
acquisition
During acquisition:
• The Live/Current Spectrum trace in the Spectrum window
updates to display the spectrum that results from each
laser shot.
NOTE: If your system includes an oscilloscope, the
Current Spectrum does not display a trace until
acquisition is complete. The spectra that result from
each laser shot are displayed on the oscilloscope
screen.
• The system averages all spectra acquired since you
started acquisition.
When acquisition is complete, the software displays the
averaged spectrum in a Current trace in the Spectrum window.
Evaluating data
As data is acquired, observe the trace in the Spectrum
window:
1. Examine the number at the top of the right axis in the
Current Spectrum trace to determine if signal is
saturated (Figure 6-4). Signal with counts greater than
64,000 may be saturated. Adjust the laser intensity as
needed.
For information, see “Signal saturation” on page 5-59.
2. Use the Resolution calculator or the Signal-To-Noise
calculator on the Current trace to determine if data is
acceptable. For more information see Section 6.5,
Evaluating Data in the Instrument Control Panel.
Hint: You can accumulate traces to improve resolution
and signal-to-noise ratio. For more information, see
Section 6.2.2, Manually Accumulating Spectra
from Multiple Acquisitions.
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