Modeling Transport in a System with Ballistic Focusing of a High Intensity Beam of Metal Ions

Аннотация

Major patterns of ion beam transport in a system with ballistic focusing are studied via numerical modeling. It is shown that the efficiency of transporting a beam of metal ions at 0.66 A and an ion energy of 1–3 keV depends on the voltage bias and plasma density in the beam’s drift space. Incomplete compensation for high-speed ions in the beam transport channel lowers the potential and (under certain conditions) produces a virtual anode. The ion-electron emission of electrons from targets and grid electrodes is an additional mechanism of compensating for the spatial charge of a beam of metal ions.