Cold electron and ion beams generated from trapped atoms
- Center for Plasma Physics and Radiation Technology, Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven (Netherlands)
A novel way of creating low-temperature electron and ion beams is demonstrated. The beams are generated by converting a laser-cooled atom cloud to a highly excited Rydberg gas, which subsequently develops into an ultracold plasma. Charged particles are extracted from the Rydberg gas and the plasma by a pulsed electric field. The properties of the resulting electron and ion pulses are experimentally studied. Pulses of a few hundred ns duration containing a few pC of charge were observed. Upper limits for the temperature of such beams (60 K for ions and 500 K for electrons) are obtained, and the beams are shown to have low emittance. Further development of the method may lead to the generation of high-brightness charged-particle beams from ultracold plasmas.
- OSTI ID:
- 21069839
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 14, Issue 9; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2771518; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
NDCX-II project commencing at LBNL
Ultra-Short Electron Bunch and X-Ray Temporal Diagnostics with an X-Band Transverse Deflector