Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1829823 | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment | 2008 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
A new approach to deuterium ion sources for deuterium-tritium neutron generators is being developed. The source is based upon the field desorption of deuterium from the surfaces of metal tips. Field desorption studies of microfabricated field emitter tip arrays have been conducted for the first time. Maximum fields of 3Â V/Ã
have been applied to the array tip surfaces to date, although achieving fields of 2Â V/Ã
to 2.5Â V/Ã
is more typical. Both the desorption of atomic deuterium ions and the gas-phase field ionization of molecular deuterium have been observed at fields of roughly 2 and 2-3Â V/Ã
, respectively, at room temperature. The desorption of common surface adsorbates such as hydrogen, carbon, water, and carbon monoxide is observed at fields exceeding â¼1Â V/Ã
. In vacuo heating of the arrays to temperatures of the order of 800 °C can be effective in removing many of the surface contaminants observed.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Instrumentation
Authors
I. Solano, Birk Reichenbach, P.R. Schwoebel, D.L. Chichester, C.E. Holland, K.L. Hertz, J.P. Brainard,