An RF antenna ion source (or
radio frequency
Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the u ...
antenna ion source) is an internal multi-
cusp
A cusp is the most pointed end of a curve. It often refers to cusp (anatomy), a pointed structure on a tooth.
Cusp or CUSP may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Cusp (singularity), a singular point of a curve
* Cusp catastrophe, a branch of bifu ...
design that can produce a
particle beam
A particle beam is a stream of charged particle, charged or neutral particles other than photons. In Particle accelerator, particle accelerators, these particles can move with a velocity close to the speed of light. There is a difference between ...
of about ~30 to 40
mA current. It is used in high energy
particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
and in accelerator laboratories.
Previous RF antennas would penetrate the
porcelain
Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
enamel coating on the antenna section at high RF power. This problem has been corrected in the development stage with a ten layer coating of
titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound derived from titanium with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or Colour Index Internationa ...
, with approximately 1 mm thick coating.
With the development of the RF antenna ion source, or "non-
thermionic
Thermionic emission is the liberation of charged particles from a hot electrode whose thermal energy gives some particles enough kinetic energy to escape the material's surface. The particles, sometimes called ''thermions'' in early literature, a ...
ion source," the ion source has an advantage over conventional
cold cathode
A cold cathode is a cathode that is not electrically heated by a Electrical filament, filament.A negatively charged electrode emits electrons or is the positively charged terminal. For more, see field emission. A cathode may be considered "cold" ...
s and
hot filament ion sources. The
filament
The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning " thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including:
Astronomy
* Galaxy filament, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe
* Solar filament ...
continuously burns out over time with a shorter lifespan, requiring venting of the ion source to atmosphere and rebuilding of the ion source.
See also
*
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
Elect ...
*
Particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel electric charge, charged particles to very high speeds and energies to contain them in well-defined particle beam, beams. Small accelerators are used for fundamental ...
External links
*Lawrence Berkley National Laborator
Improvement of the lifetime of radio frequency antenna
Particle physics
Accelerator physics
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