stable ion

in mass spectrometry
An ion which is not sufficiently excited to dissociate spontaneously into a daughter ion and associated neutral fragment(s) or to react further in any other way within the time scale of the experiment, e.g. until hitting the detector.
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 1550