High-gradient microelectromechanical system quadrupole electromagnets for particle beam focusing and steering

Abstract

Recent advancements in microelectromechanical system (MEMS) fabrication techniques have enabled the batch-fabrication of quadrupole MEMS electromagnets producing 100 mT-scale field across sub-mm gaps with the potential for transformational advances in the field of compact high performance charged particle focusing and steering optics. The footprint of these in-vacuum focusing and steering optics can be as small as 3mm×3mm×0.5mm. The low electromagnet impedance (58mΩ, 32 nH per pole) facilitates power-efficient operation and continuous or low duty cycle operation, and the individually controlled electromagnets allow combined dipole-quadrupole fields. Here we report on an experiment where these miniature devices have been used to focus and steer a 34 keV electron beam from a DC photogun, demonstrating the first application of magnetic MEMS to particle beam focusing.