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An apparatus having the appearance of a walk-through portal used at airport security points (so-called ‘mass spectrometer’). It is designed for the detection of illicit substances, such as explosives and narcotics, by using Ion Trap Mobility Spectrometer (ITMS) technology.
The analysis is based on samples of air which pass through a semi-permeable membrane and enter an ionisation chamber where an ionisation source emits beta particles resulting in ion formation in the gaseous phase. The ionisation is then pulsed into a drift tube where an electric field accelerates the ions to a collector electrode. The sample is then analysed based on the time taken by the ions to reach the collector. Consequently, the apparatus separates ionised vapours and then measures the mobility of the ions in an electric field.
The apparatus does not use optical radiation.
| 9027 80 17 |
Classification is determined by General Rules 1 and 6 for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature and by the wording of CN codes 9027, 9027 80 and 9027 80 17.
Classification under heading 9022 as an apparatus based on the use of beta radiation is excluded, as the radiation is used only in a preparatory step, prior to the analysis, to ionise the sample. The radiation is only an initial stage of the chemical analysis process which uses spectrometry technology.
The apparatus for physical or chemical analysis — spectrometers — are specifically mentioned under heading 9027.
As the apparatus does not use optical radiation (UV, visible, IR), it is therefore to be classified under CN code 9027 80 17 as other apparatus for physical or chemical analysis.
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