Stripline fast faraday cup for measuring GHz structure of ion beams

This patent describes an apparatus for measuring the structure on ion beams. It comprises a dielectric strip with an opening therethrough to create an air gap from one side of the dielectric strip to the other; a conductive stripeline bonded to one side of the dielectric strip and a groundplane bonded to the opposing side of the dielectric strip wherein the airgap remains open; a thin dielectric film coating the groundplane; a second groundplane adhering to the thin dielectric film wherein a portion of the thin dielectric film adjacent to the air gap is exposed; a fine mesh electrostatic screen bonded to the second groundplane directly over the air gap; means for matching the impedance at the electrostatic screen with that of the stripline; a Faraday cup mounted opposite the electrostatic screen with a drift space between the electrostatic screen and the Faraday cup; means for reducing RF reflections from the stripline through the use of a terminating impedance; means for biasing the electrostatic screen; means for outputting information to an amplifier; and a measuring device coupled to the amplifier where the measuring device receives information from the amplifier