Article,
Ion beam charging of silicon nanoparticles in helium background gas: Design of the ion beam aerosol charger
Review of Scientific Instruments, 74 (6): 3027--3030 (June 2003)683AG Times Cited:1 Cited References Count:35.
DOI: Doi 10.1063/1.1575922
Abstract
An ion beam aerosol charger that ionizes aerosol nanoparticles of less than 10 nm diameter using an ion beam was designed for use in the electrostatic manipulation of gas-suspended nanoparticles. Pulsed laser ablation of a solid target in a high purity helium gas under pressure of 2 - 10 Torr (266 - 1330 Pa) was employed to fabricate nanometer-sized silicon particles. The ion beam, which was generated by cold cathode Penning ionization of He atoms, was accelerated with an energy of 0 - 5 keV, penetrated a skimmer located within the differential pumping system, and then entered the aerosol ionization chamber. The silicon nanoparticles were both positively and negatively charged by the direct impact of the ion beam or the secondary electrons generated from the surrounding He gas. The change in the concentration of ions and charged aerosols was measured by ion probes. It was found that the concentration of charged particles was drastically increased to 2 - 50 times that at baseline. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.
