2. Observed spectra

For each ion, it is possible to plot the value of the charge detected as a function of the mass detected in a two-dimensional plot. Whatever the CDMS mode used, mass-charge spectra, which generally contain between 5,000 and 10,000 single-ion measurements, are presented in two dimensions: charge-mass (or charge-mass/charge). The mass-charge spectrum measured on latex bead ions with a nominal diameter of 100 nm is shown in figure 5 . The mass and charge distributions of the substances studied can be obtained directly from this graph. The mass (and charge) distribution of these ions is usually "histogrammed" from mass (and charge)...