An arrangement in which ions with a desired range of quotients mass/charge are first made to describe stable
paths under the effect of a high-frequency electric quadrupole field, and are then separated and presented to a detector by adjusting the field so as to selectivity
induce path instability according to their respective mass/charge ratios.
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
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997). XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8. doi:10.1351/goldbook