Abstract: An X-ray generating apparatus is provided with a unitary vacuum enclosure having a rotating anode target and a cathode assembly for generating X-rays transmitted through an X-ray window. The cathode assembly is placed within the vacuum enclosure through an opening in the top wall thereof, and comprises a disk which completely covers this opening. The unitary vacuum enclosure and the disk form a radiation shield. For increasing a thermal capacity of the unitary vacuum enclosure and installing the X-ray generating apparatus into a gantry it further comprises a mounting block which may be coupled to or encompass the unitary vacuum enclosure. The X-ray window is placed within the mounting block. A window adaptor may be utilized for the X-ray window installation.

Abstract: A rotating sealing device for sealing between a wall separating two mediums under substantially different pressure and a rotatable shaft utilizes a combination of a liquid meatal seal comprising at least one liquid metal ring and a shield means which prevents contamination of the metal ring by gases coming into contact with the liquid metal. Magnetic fluid seal, a ring of an oil material, or inert gas may be used as a shield to protect the liquid metal.

Abstract: The invented method and devices address signal regeneration and all-optical switching in optical fiber transmission lines. In modern optical networks, after several stages of optical amplification, the noise accumulation requires regeneration e.g. translation to electronic domain. A new type of optical repeater and optical switch are suggested to perform regeneration and switching on the optical level. The main component of the devices is an optical cavity implanted into a section of the optical fiber and bounded by fiber gratings. In the optical repeater, the fiber cavity is nonlinear; at resonant frequency, the cavity almost totally rejects the noise and transmits the signal. In the optical switch, the fiber cavity is linear; depending on the cavity tuning, the signal may be transmitted through the cavity or reflected and redirected to an appropriate switch port.

Abstract: A method of operating a quadrupole ion trap as a mass spectrometer, in which the ion mass to be detected is selected by adjusting the three dimensional quadrupole storage field to make the .beta..sub.z value of the selected mass equal to a fixed, predetermined .beta..sub.z value of a narrow range of frequencies excluded from a broadband supplemental RF electric field. The ions are detected to provide a signal corresponding to the amount of the selected ion mass.

Abstract: An X-ray tube has an anode and a photocathode inside a vacuum envelope and an electron multiplier is disposed between them. Such an electron multiplier may be a plurality of sequentially disposed dynodes or a microchannel plate. Because of the secondary electron emission from such an electron multiplier, a higher-power radiation is obtained without requiring a high optical power level to generate photoelectrons. The vacuum envelope may be of a rotary type with the anode and photocathode having annular regions.

Abstract: A method of ion collection over a wide mass-to-charge range from continuous ion source into a quadrupole ion trap filled with a buffer gas directing an ion beam, from an external ion source to a radio frequency ion trap through a gating device for a predetermined period of accumulation time to allow the beam to enter the trap, trapping ions over a range of masses by applying a radio frequency voltage to the trap and changing an amplitude of the radio frequency voltage adiabatically to achieve a uniform trapping efficiency for ions over a predetermined mass range. The predetermined period of accumulation time may be divided into a plurality of segments, and the amplitude of the radio-frequency voltage is changing adiabatically within each segment.

Abstract: A molecular drag compressor includes a rotor disk and a stator that defines a tangential flow channel having an inlet and an outlet. A stationary baffle is disposed in the tangential flow channel adjacent to the outlet. The baffle is spaced from the rotor disk by a gap. A surface of the baffle facing the rotor disk has surface irregularities including peaks for defining the gap and valleys between the peaks for accumulation of particles. The surface irregularities may form a series of grooves. The molecular drag compressor is preferably utilized in a high vacuum pump which includes an axial turbomolecular compressor and a molecular drag compressor. Additional features which limit the effect of particulate accumulation in molecular drag compressors are disclosed.

Abstract: A turbomolecular pump comprises a pump body housing a gas inlet and a gas exhaust port and a plurality of pumping assemblies with interleaved rotors and stators located within the pump body. The rotors are secured to a rotating shaft that is supported by at least one rotatable support and driven by a motor. At least one stator of the pumping assemblies is provided with at least one spiral channel adapted to push and eject the gases from an area proximal to the shaft toward an area distal from the shaft and vice versa.

Abstract: The present invention provides an X-ray generating apparatus with a shield structure having an electron beam collimating aperture and heat transfer device. The shield structure is made of thermally conductive material and placed in the discharge space between an electron source and rotating anode target. The shield structure is formed by a concave top surface facing the electron source, a flat top surface facing the anode target, and inner and outer walls wherein a linear dimension of the inner wall is substantially smaller than the linear dimension of the outer wall. The inner wall surrounds the beam collecting aperture. The heat transfer device is placed in a beveled portion of the shield structure. The heat transfer device includes an extended coiled wire formed from thermally conductive material and conductively attached to the knurled interior of the shield structure to transfer heat to the cooling liquid passing through inflow and outflow chambers of the shield structure.

Abstract: The thin film heat treatment apparatus for heating the wafers or foil sheets provides a conductively heated table disposed within a vacuum chamber, a heat radiation preventing device that is installed adjacent to the conductively heated table and forms a space with the top of the heater table by surrounding the foil sheet or wafer placed on the top of the heater table.

Abstract: A stationary target anode of an X-ray device is provided, having stepped high Z button configuration. By minimizing the diameter of the central, X-ray producing section of the button, and incorporating a thin lip extending therefrom to a diameter approximately twice that of the central portion, internal and interface stresses are minimized. A flexible structure is also provided to support the button/substrate assembly and provide minimal resistance as the substrate radially expands during heating, thereby minimizing induced stress on the target and preventing fatigue and failure of the support target.

Abstract: A mass spectrometer system for performing a separation of ions from neutrals and mass analyzing ions comprising an ion generating source with an ion introduction system, a radio-frequency ion guide and a mass analyzer disposed within a vacuum chamber. The radio-frequency ion guide is positioned with respect to the ion introduction system so that a main axis of the radio-frequency ion guide is angled toward a central axis of the ion introduction system. The trajectory of the ions is diverted toward the main axis of the radio-frequency ion guide while neutrals continue their flow along the central axis. The ions from the ion introduction system are transported via the radio-frequency ion guide to the mass analyzer.

Abstract: A method and mass spectrometer system for trapping ions within an ion trap by increasing the flight path of ions therein. An ion beam is produced by external ion source and is directed to the ion trap which comprises at least one trapping electrode in proximity to an exit region of the ion beam from the ion trap. A retarding DC voltage is applied to the trapping electrode during ion accumulation time for creating a fringing reflection field and for retaining ions within the ion trap.

Abstract: Small, hermetically sealed pans are leak tested after subjecting the finished device to an environment of trace gas such as helium. During the testing process the pans may lose their helium charge by rapid escape due to massive gross leaks. These cases demand pre-helium mass spectrometer leak detector gross leak testing procedure. The non-helium expansion technique, used in conjunction with a helium mass spectrometer leak detector, provides a reliable and automatic gross and fine leak testing of the pans by a single apparatus. The test pan is placed in a sealed test fixture, and a valve between the test fixture and an expansion chamber is opened. The pressure in the expansion chamber is measured after the valve is opened. When the measured pressure is less than a reference pressure, a leaking test pan is indicated. When a sealed test pan is indicated, a helium mass spectrometer leak test is performed to determine the presence of fine leaks in the test part.

Abstract: A positive displacement fluid handling apparatus has a first, high volumetric displacement rate scroll pump of nested interacting pairs of fixed and movable spiral-shaped blades supported in a housing between an inlet and an outlet. Each adjacent blade pair is of sufficient angular extent, preferably only about 360.degree., to close an inter-blade pocket. In a preferred form for a vacuum pump, a second scroll pump mounted in the housing has its fluid inlet in direct fluid communication with the first scroll outlet. The second scroll has a single pair of co-acting fixed and movable blades with multiple revolutions with a relatively short axial height. The low back leakage of this second pump allows the first pump to omit tip seals on the free spiral edges of the blades. The volumetric displacement rate of the first pump exceeds that of the second pump. An orbiting plate carries the movable blades of both scroll pumps.

Abstract: A field emission device (100) uses single crystals in order to eliminate grain boundaries within some or all of the electrodes (103, 104, and 205). The elimination of grain boundaries reduces susceptibility to damage, improves stability of the device (100), and improves uniformity and reproducibility among devices. In a preferred embodiment, the emitter and gate electrodes (103 and 104 respectively) are formed from a single crystal thin film (302). In other embodiments, other structures are employed wherein one or more of the electrodes (103, 104, and 205) are formed from single crystals.

Abstract: A single potential ion source includes a single conical electrode encircled by a cylindrical magnet. At least one filament is placed proximate to the electrode. This arrangement serves to accelerate electrons created by energy from the filament toward a center axis of the conical electrode. The electrons collide with gas particles to create a focused ion stream. The stream may be directed into a magnetic field in a mass spectrometer tube.

Abstract: A three terminal ionization chamber includes a first electrode coupled to a bias voltage source spaced apart from a second electrode coupled to ground. A third terminal is provided which is positioned between the first and second electrodes. Measurement circuitry may be coupled to the third terminal to measure charge indicative of the amount of radiation incident to the chamber.

Abstract: An X-ray tube of a rotating anode type for reducing acoustic noise and vibration by using an isolating structure which suppresses and prevents transmission of the vibrational energy from the rotating anode assembly to a vacuum envelope and a housing of the X-ray tube. The isolating structure comprises at least one flexible member which is connected between a support structure of the the anode assembly and a neck portion of the vacuum envelope forming a hermetical sealing therewith, and symmetrically disposed isolating members placed between the neck and head portions of the vacuum envelope and the housing, respectively. The flexible members of the isolating structure can be incorporated into the walls of the vacuum envelope.

Abstract: Turbomolecular vacuum pumps having structures which provide increased pumping speed, increased discharge pressure and decreased operating power in comparison with prior art turbomolecular vacuum pumps. In a first embodiment, the staters of one or more axial flow vacuum pumping stages in proximity to the exhaust port of the vacuum pump have progressively lower conductance so that the bulk velocity of the gas being pumped is increased. In a second embodiment, one or more stages near the inlet port of the vacuum pump are provided with a peripheral channel to utilize the centrifugal component of the gas being pumped. In a third embodiment, one or more stages in the vacuum pump are molecular drag stages, each including a disk rotor. One or more pumping channels in the stator adjacent to the upper surface of the disk are connected in series with one or more pumping channels adjacent to the lower surface of the disk.