Analysis of 3-panel and 4-panel microscale ionization sources
Abstract
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 10-4 to 0.1 Torr. A comparison of the performance of both designs is
presented. The 4-panel microion source showed a 10× 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. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.
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Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3384Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1063/1.3429220Publication Info
Natarajan, S; Parker, CB; Piascik, JR; Gilchrist, KH; Stoner, BR; & Glass, JT (2010). Analysis of 3-panel and 4-panel microscale ionization sources. Journal of Applied Physics, 107(12). pp. 124508. 10.1063/1.3429220. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3384.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Jeffrey Glass
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Jeffrey T. Glass is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
and Director of the Institute for Enterprise Engineering. He holds the Hogg Family
endowed chair in Engineering Management and Entrepreneurship. Formerly, he was the
Co-Director of The Institute for the Integration of Management and Engineering at
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and held the Joseph F. Toot, Jr. endowed chair
in the Case School of Engineering. Prior to these university appointment
Charles Parker
Senior Laboratory Administrator
Brian R. Stoner
Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
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