Frankfurt EBIS with time-of-flight operation

An EBIS with dc output was built which runs in a time-of-flight mode of operation, e.g., the ions become highly charged during the time of flight in the electron beam from one end of the source to the other. Design principles to produce current densities above 103 A/cm2 were applied in constructing the source, including a high power electron gun and magnetic compression of the accelerated beam. First tests on the ionization of argon show that desorption requires attention at the electron collector. Cathode extraction of ions has proved to be quite satisfactory, promising great flexibility in producing ions from any element, gaseous or solid