The Signal Acquisition Solution engineered for targeted analysis and quantification — high performance, compact, and optimized for TOFMS OEMs
Accessible High-performance at mid-range speed
Not every time-of-flight mass spectrometry application demands the highest sampling rate on the market. Many of the most important TOFMS workflows — targeted analysis, routine quantification, LC-TOF, GC-TOF — require high dynamic range, reliable pulse capture, measurement speed including real-time signal processing, in a compact and cost-effective platform to build a competitive instrument around.
The SA6 is Acqiris' answer for this broad and growing segment of the TOFMS market — and the piece that efficiently completes the Acqiris TOFMS acquisition portfolio.
SA6 Solution at a Glance
The SA6 technology is based on a dual-channel 12-bit DAQ card (a.k.a. digitizer) operating at up to 1 GS/s with 500 MHz analog bandwidth, housed in an ultra-compact form factor. It completes the Acqiris TOFMS acquisition portfolio by bringing the same real-time AQTOF processing as the SA2 14-bit high-end solution — to a mid-range speed platform at an optimized cost/power/performance balance.
Where the SA2 and SA3 target demanding high-speed applications with sub-nanosecond pulse capture, the SA6 is optimized for the 5–10 ns pulse range — the domain of LC-TOF, GC-TOF, ICP-TOF, MALDI-TOF, SLIM-TOF and IMS-TOF instruments where reliability, measurement speed and compactness, and value are paramount.
Engineered for Accurate Waveform Digitization
At the heart of the SA6 is Acqiris’ new innovative, low-noise proprietary analog DC front-end with a selectable full-scale input range: 250 mV, 500 mV, 1 V, or 2 V — adjustable by software to match the state-of-the-art detectors and constraints of each instrument.
This flexibility delivers tangible performance benefits across the full range of targeted analysis applications:
- Optimized dynamic range — particularly for low-amplitude pulses where resolution matters most
- Maximized SFDR (Spurious-Free Dynamic Range) — ensuring clean spectral performance across the full input range
- Accurate mass resolution — underpinned by 9.3 ENOB, timing precision, and baseline stability
- Versatile signal capture — from single ion events to complex, intense multi-peak signals within the same acquisition setup
Dual-channel synchronous acquisition at up to 1 GS/s, with 2 triggers and independent acquisition parameters, enables simultaneous multi-detector configurations, broadening the range of instrument architectures the SA6 can support.
AQTOF: The Same Real-Time Intelligence, Now Accessible at 1 GS/s
One of the SA6's most significant advantages is full integration with Acqiris' AQTOF real-time processing framework — the same engine powering all SA-family hardware. This means SA6 users benefit from advanced signal processing capabilities, with three dedicated TOFMS processing modes:
- Real-time averaging (Pre-accumulation): Onboard waveform accumulation improves signal-to-noise ratio for low-abundance species. Can be combined with data streaming to ensure no trigger event is missed — critical for fast MALDI or IMS-TOF workflows.
- Peak-Listing (PKL): On-the-fly pulse identification and characterization directly in the FPGA. Each detected pulse is analyzed in real time to extract position, amplitude, width, peak area, and/or center of mass — outputting a compact list of pulses and their user-selected key parameters rather than raw waveform data, dramatically reducing downstream data handling.
- Combined Averaging + PKL: a unique combined series architecture that enables waveform accumulation before running the peak list engine, maximizing detection sensitivity for challenging low-signal applications while maintaining the throughput advantages of peak-listing.
Beyond these modes, AQTOF provides a common API across the full Acqiris hardware family — meaning OEMs already working with an SA1 or SA2 card can integrate the SA6 with minimal software overhead, and instrument platforms can be scaled or migrated between SA-family digitizers as requirements evolve.
Built for TOFMS OEMs
Compact, efficient, and ready to integrate
The SA6 is designed from the ground up for OEM instrument integration:
- Ultra-compact form factor (single half-length PCIe card) — enabling high-performance acquisition in the smallest possible instrument footprint
- Low power consumption (25W) and optimized thermal dissipation — simplifying thermal management in sealed or compact enclosures
- Open FPGA capabilities — giving OEMs the flexibility to implement custom real-time processing, proprietary algorithms, or application-specific instrument control logic
- Fast system integration and time to market — supported by the AQTOF common API and Acqiris' decades of OEM integration experience
Key Specifications
- Resolution: 12-bit
- Max sample rate: 1 GS/s (dual channel, synchronous)
- Two trigger inputs: enabling dual channel mode — running independent acquisition on the two channels
- Analog bandwidth: up to 500 MHz
- Full-scale input range: 250 mV / 500 mV / 1 V / 2 V (software selectable)
- Front-end: Low-noise DC-coupled analog
- FPGA: Open, customizable (implementable by OEM or Acqiris)
- Acquisition modes: Real-time Peak-Listing, pre-accumulation averaging, and combined mode — all compatible with streaming
- Ultra-compact form factor: Single half-length PCIe x8 slot with an integrated fan
Compact. Cost-effective. No compromise on performance.
The SA6 completes the Acqiris TOFMS acquisition portfolio, giving OEMs access to industry-leading real-time pulse processing in an ultra-compact, cost-optimized platform. Whether you are developing a benchtop LC-TOF system, a portable ICP-TOF instrument, or a high-throughput MALDI screening platform, the SA6 Signal Acquisition Solution delivers the acquisition performance and integration simplicity to meet your specification — and your cost targets.
Learn more on AQTOF – Acqiris Solution for TOFMS and pulse analysis
The SA6 is part of the Acqiris TOFMS acquisition portfolio. Contact us to discuss your OEM integration requirements.
