Guiding of slow Ne7+ ions through nanocapillaries in a PET polymer: dependence on the capillary diameter

The transmission of 3 keV ions through capillaries of 100 and 200 nm diameters and 10 μm length produced by etching ion tracks in a PET polymer foil were measured. The foils were tilted relative to the incident beam direction by angles up to 25° for which the incident ions are forced to approach the capillary surface. Surprisingly, the majority of Ne7+ ions were found to be transmitted in their initial charge state. Also, the angular distributions of the transmitted particles exhibit a predominant emission of the Ne7+ ions along the capillary axis. This capillary guiding of the Ne7+ ion shows that the ions produce a charge-up within the capillaries in a self-organizing process. The experimental results indicate a significant dependence of the ion transmission on the diameter of the capillaries.