A new approach to gas field ion sources.
A new approach to gas field ion sources is described. It is based on a structure made by inserting a field emission tip inside a small diameter tube. The tube supplies gas to the tip from a high-pressure chamber into a high-vacuum chamber where ionization takes place. Comparison of projection electron and ion micrographs shows that ionization results from a field ionization process taking place at the very end of the tip. Emission currents in the 10nA range, for a few kV emission voltages, are obtained with various gases including neon, air and hydrogen. Lifetime experiments with H(2) show stable emission for days.
Salançon
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E
CRMC2-CNRS, Campus de Luminy-Case 913, Cedex 9 13288, Marseille, France. salacon@crmc2.univ-mrs.fr
Hammadi
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Z
Morin
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R