SOURCE OF WIDE-APERTURE ION BEAMS Russian patent published in 2009 - IPC H01J27/04 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to plasma engineering, and more specifically to generation of ion beams with large cross-sectional area. The source of wide-aperture ion beams has a plasma cathode based on glow discharge, the electrode system of which comprises a hollow cathode 1, ignitor electrode 2 and anode grid 3, placed opposite the output aperture of the hollow cathode; and a plasma chamber, which comprises a rod-shaped anode 4 and a hollow cylindrical emitter electrode 5 with openings for extracting ions, electrically connected to the anode grid 3 and lying at negative potential relative the rod-shaped node. Effective ionisation of gas and generation of dense plasma is provided for at a defined ratio of surface areas of the rod-shaped anode and hollow emitter electrode, the value of which depends on the average number of ionisations made by injected fast electrons. Ions are tapped from the plasma through openings in the hollow cylindrical emitter electrode. Chosen diametre of the anode grid is close to the diametre of the hollow emitter electrode. The anode grid is placed at a distance from the output aperture of the hollow cathode, approximately equal to its diametre. The rod-shaped anode is placed at the butt-end of the hollow cylindrical emitter electrode opposite the anode grid, in which there is one or more openings for inlet of working gas. Openings for extracting ions are on the lateral surface of the hollow emitter electrode.

EFFECT: formation of extended sheet beams and radially divergent beams with uniform distribution of ion current density in the cross-section of the beams.

3 cl, 3 dwg