Intensity in a mass spectrum arising from ions that spontaneously fragment between emission and detection.
Note: In reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometers, the decay of metastable ions leads to broad peaks at a mass dependent on the drift energy and
reflector voltage. Good design minimizes these background signals.
Source:
PAC, 2020, 92, 1781. 'Glossary of methods and terms used in surface chemical analysis (IUPAC Recommendations 2020)' on page 1841 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0404)