Analysis of 3-panel and 4-panel microscale ionization sources

Journal Article · Tue Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3429220· OSTI ID:21476333

Natarajan, Srividya; Parker, Charles B; Glass, Jeffrey T ^[1]; Piascik, Jeffrey R; Gilchrist, Kristin H ^[2]; Stoner, Brian R ^[1]

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1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States)
2. Center for Materials and Electronic Technologies, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 (United States)

Two designs of a microscale electron ionization (EI) source are analyzed herein: a 3-panel design and a 4-panel design. Devices were fabricated using microelectromechanical systems technology. Field emission from carbon nanotube provided the electrons for the EI source. Ion currents were measured for helium, nitrogen, and xenon at pressures ranging from 10{sup -4} to 0.1 Torr. A comparison of the performance of both designs is presented. The 4-panel microion source showed a 10x improvement in performance compared to the 3-panel device. An analysis of the various factors affecting the performance of the microion sources is also presented. SIMION, an electron and ion optics software, was coupled with experimental measurements to analyze the ion current results. The electron current contributing to ionization and the ion collection efficiency are believed to be the primary factors responsible for the higher efficiency of the 4-panel microion source. Other improvements in device design that could lead to higher ion source efficiency in the future are also discussed. These microscale ion sources are expected to find application as stand alone ion sources as well as in miniature mass spectrometers.

• OSTI ID: 21476333
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 107, Issue 12; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3429220; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
07 ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES
BEAM OPTICS
CARBON
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DATA ANALYSIS
DESIGN
ELECTRONS
FIELD EMISSION
HELIUM
ION SOURCES
IONIZATION
IONS
NANOTUBES
NITROGEN
PANELS
PERFORMANCE
PLASMA
S CODES
XENON
CHARGED PARTICLES
COMPUTER CODES
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
EVALUATION
FERMIONS
FLUIDS
GASES
LEPTONS
NANOSTRUCTURES
NONMETALS
RARE GASES