Generation of an ion beam in a glow-discharge source

Abstract

A mechanism of ion extraction from a glow-discharge ion source based on a hollow cathode and used for elemental analysis of solids, is considered Experiments have shown that two oppositely directed ion flows are formed from ions produced in the region of negative glow-discharge fluorescence. One flow has an ion energy ≥ 100 eV, is directed to the cathode, and bombards and sputters the analyzed sample. The sputtered atoms diffuse into the negative-glow region and are ionized. The second flow (low-energy ions) is extracted from the same negative-glow region and transported from the cathode to the surface of the anode chamber owing to an ambipolar diffusion. These ions are extracted from a hole in the anode chamber of a standard ion source by an electric field and are used for mass-spectrum analysis. The energy-distribution width for these ions is ∼5 eV. The intensity of the ion beam extracted from the anode hole is an order of magnitude higher than the intensity of the ion beam extracted from the cathode region.