System and method for neutralizing an ion beam using water vapor
US5814819A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 11, 1997 |
| Grant date | Sep 29, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 11, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2237/31701
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An improved ion beam neutralizer (22) is provided for neutralizing the electrical charge of an ion beam (28) output from an extraction aperture (50). The neutralizer comprises a source of water (52); a vaporizer (54) connected to the source of water; a mass flow controller (56) connected to the vaporizer; and an inlet (60) connected to the mass flow controller. The vaporizer (54) converts water from the source (52) from a liquid state to a vapor state. The mass flow controller (56) receives water vapor from the vaporizer (54) and meters the volume of water vapor output by a mass flow controller outlet (66). The inlet (60) is provided with an injection port (68) located proximate the ion beam extraction aperture (50) and receives the metered volume from the outlet (66). The injection port (68) is positioned near the extraction aperture so that the ion beam and the water vapor interact to neutralize the ion beam. The improved ion beam neutralizer (22) is especially effective in low energy (less than ten kilo-electron volts (10 KeV)) beam applications.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.