an apparatus , system and method of fabricating the apparatus utilize a flexible substrate to provide structural integrity for the apparatus . the apparatus is an optical path device used in mass spectrometers to manipulate ions extracted from a sample of interest . the apparatus uses traces on a surface of the flexible substrate to generate a desired electrostatic field . preferably , the flexible substrate is made of kapton ® and the traces are composed of stainless steel or nickel . in one embodiment , an ion mirror is formed by shaping the flexible substrate and the traces to create a hollow conduit for the ions . in another embodiment , an einzel lens is formed by varying the configuration of the conductive material on the flexible substrate . in a different embodiment , a region of resistive material on the flexible substrate is utilized to create a field gradient . the resistive material can be used to create an ion mirror .