Publication

Development of a ToF setup with an ion - guide for characterization of electrospray microthrusters

Abstract

Electrospray microthrusters are a very promising micro-propulsion system which can potentially provide very high specific impulse (Isp ~ 3000s). In this paper, we report on the development of a time-of-flight (ToF) measurement setup for characterization of the spray composition of the electrospray sources. This setup consists of an electrostatic ion-guide built with 13 cascaded single-stage Einzel lenses along with a 65 cm long flight tube to focus the emitted charges on a Faraday cup detector. The distributed lens ensures a large fraction of the emitted beam can be collected, even when the beam divergence is high. Simulations of the focusing capabilities of the ion guide have been performed and are compared with a single stage Einzel lens, with excellent agreement. The efficiency of the lens has been characterized with microfabricated capillary electrospray devices and with electrochemically etched tungsten needles.

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Related concepts (32)
Ion source
An ion source is a device that creates atomic and molecular ions. Ion sources are used to form ions for mass spectrometers, optical emission spectrometers, particle accelerators, ion implanters and ion engines. Electron ionization Electron ionization is widely used in mass spectrometry, particularly for organic molecules. The gas phase reaction producing electron ionization is M{} + e^- -> M^{+\bullet}{} + 2e^- where M is the atom or molecule being ionized, e^- is the electron, and M^{+\bullet} is the resulting ion.
Beam divergence
In electromagnetics, especially in optics, beam divergence is an angular measure of the increase in beam diameter or radius with distance from the optical aperture or antenna aperture from which the beam emerges. The term is relevant only in the "far field", away from any focus of the beam. Practically speaking, however, the far field can commence physically close to the radiating aperture, depending on aperture diameter and the operating wavelength.
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (elements), usually arranged along a common axis. Lenses are made from materials such as glass or plastic and are ground, polished, or molded to the required shape. A lens can focus light to form an , unlike a prism, which refracts light without focusing.
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