Tandem analyzer of plasma flow ions by energy, mass and charges

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of a new analyzer of a multicomponent ion beam by energy, mass, and charge. The analyzer is constructed as a tandem, i.e. combining a Wien linear velocity filter (WLF) and a retarding field analyzer (RFA). The system is effective at separating the elements or the groups of elements in various experiments, for example, for plasma mass separation in the such design variants as WLF-RFA and RFA-WLF. It is worth noting that the device can work with ions characterized by a wide energy range. The results of experimental testing of the TANDEM analyzer (WLF-RFA) in a three-component plasma flow (Ne + Ar + Kr) generated by an anode layer plasma accelerator are presented. In the ion flow characterized by the energies ranging from 100 to 1500 eV, the TANDEM separated ions with relative masses ranging from 20.17 to 83.8 with a resolution of ∼ 7 and charges ranging from 1 to 5. The resolution of WLF-RFA increases upon the growth in ion density in a multicomponent stream.