A method of ejecting ions to be analyzed from a quadrupole ion trap in which a trapping field is created by one or more RF voltages applied to one or more electrodes of the trap, the method comprising the steps of cooling the ions to be analyzed within the quadrupole ion trap until the ions are thermalized, reducing the amplitude of one or more RF voltages applied to the quadrupole ion trap and applying the reduced amplitude RF voltages for one half cycle after the one or more RF voltages have reached a zero crossing point, turning off the RF voltages applied to the quadrupole ion trap, and ejecting the ions to be analyzed from the quadrupole ion trap.