Title: Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.F02492
Status: current

Definition
A high-frequency mass spectrometer in which the cyclotron motion of ions, having different mass/charge ratios, in a constant magnetic field is excited essentially simultaneously and coherently by a pulse or a radio-frequency electric field applied perpendicular to the magnetic field. The excited cyclotron motion of the ions is subsequently detected on so-called receiver plates as a time domain signal that contains all the cyclotron frequencies that have been excited. Fourier transformation of the time domain signal results in the frequency domain FT-ICR signal which, on the basis of the inverse proportionality between frequency and the mass/charge ratio, can be converted into a mass spectrum. The term is sometimes contracted to Fourier transform mass spectrometer (FT-MS).

Related Terms
- cyclotron: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/C01509
- ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/I03162
- mass spectrometer: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/M03732
- mass spectrum: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/M03749
- transformation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/T06446

Source
- PAC, 1991, 63, 1541. 'Recommendations for nomenclature and symbolism for mass spectroscopy (including an appendix of terms used in vacuum technology). (Recommendations 1991)' on page 1545 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199163101541)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/F02492/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/F02492/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/F02492/xml

Citation: Citation: 'Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.F02492
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-06-28T18:59:32+00:00