Discharge Device With Positive Ion Emitter Patents (Class 313/230)
  • Patent number: 4931700
    Abstract: A cold cathode electron gun utilizes a metallic torus for electrostatic focusing of an electron beam. A nonconductive tube is disposed within and along the axis of the torus. A conductive aerodynamic body electrically connected to the torus forms an annular venturi in the tube and includes a face which serves as a high field emitting surface. High molecular weight gas is introduced into a proximal end of the tube at a stagnation pressure sufficient to produce supersonic flow thereby causing a vacuous gas region adjacent the emitting surface. The torus and emitting surface are driven to a very high negative potential by a Tesla transformer or the like, producing high field emission into the vacuous region. The electric field of the torus produces, from the emitted electrons, an electron beam which issues from the tube into the atmosphere.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 5, 1990
    Inventor: Jay L. Reed
  • Patent number: 4926056
    Abstract: A microelectronic field ionizer and alternate fabrication procedures for the same are described. The field ionizer has an array of small diameter gas outlets in the form of microvolcanos. A counterelectrode layer of material is provided on the microelectronic substrate, in the registration with the gas outlets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 15, 1990
    Assignee: SRI International
    Inventor: Charles A. Spindt
  • Patent number: 4904872
    Abstract: In a method for generating extremely short ion pulses having a high intensity and a pulsed ion source to generate extremely short ion pulses having a high intensity, the ions are generated by an electron, laser or particle beam and are stored in a potential well formed by at least three electrodes, at least one of the central electrodes having a more attractive potential for the ions in question than the other electrodes. A single electrical pulse is used for extracting the ions from the potential well. Correspondingly constructed pulsed ion sources are particularly suitable for use in time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The ion storage effect is produced by a number of electrodes which generate a potential well for the ions to be detected. The ion compression is determined by the field strength existing during the ion extraction in the ion source which should be approximately equal in the entire area of acceleration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1990
    Inventors: Raimund Grix, Roland Kutscher, Gang Q. Li, Hermann Wollnik
  • Patent number: 4904873
    Abstract: A method for the repeatable generation and guidance of intensive, large-area ion, electron and x-ray beams, with the beam guidance being effected already in the beam generator by means of operationally variable, magnetic and electric fields and variable magnetic correction fields, wherein the beam guidance fields are generated by the beam current itself and the magnetic correction fields by the current source associated with the beam generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1990
    Assignee: Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH
    Inventor: Werner Kuhn
  • Patent number: 4862032
    Abstract: A gas, ionizable to produce a plasma, is introduced into a region defined within an ion source. An anode is disposed near one end of that region, and a cathode is located near the other. A potential is impressed between the anode and the cathode to produce electrons which flow generally in a direction from the cathode toward the anode and bombard the gas to create a plasma. A magnetic field is established within the region in a manner such that the field strength decreases in the direction from the anode to the cathode. The direction of the field is generally between the anode and the cathode. The electrons are produced independently of any ion bombardment of the cathode, the magnet is located outside the region on the other side of the anode and the gas is introduced uniformly across the region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1986
    Date of Patent: August 29, 1989
    Inventors: Harold R. Kaufman, Raymond S. Robinson
  • Patent number: 4859909
    Abstract: A process for igniting a ultra-high frequency ion source using in a per se known manner, a resonator cavity supplied by a gas or a vapor of a material for forming a plasma, a system for injecting ultra-high frequency power into the cavity and a system for extracting ions of the plasma outside of the cavity, said process comprising the steps of forming the cavity to be of the multimode type, producing nucleating electrons within the medium to be ionized and preserving the plasma following its ignition solely by ultra-high frequency power. Apparatus for igniting an ultra-high frequency ion source using the process is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1989
    Assignee: Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique
    Inventors: Rene Gualandris, Paul Ludwig, Jean-Claude Rocco, Francois Zadworny
  • Patent number: 4859908
    Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus performs various plasma processings of a substrate having a large area in a semiconductor element manufacturing process, by using highly excited plasma generated at a low pressure under the application of RF power and a magnetic field. In this plasma processing apparatus, a gas is introduced into a vacuum chamber to be used as an ion source, RF power is applied to two electrodes having respective surfaces opposite to each other through the gas to thereby generate the plasma in the vacuum chamber, and a magnetic field is applied to the plasma from a magnetic field source arranged at a predetermined position. The intensity of the applied magnetic field is set to be 1.5 times or more the magnetic field intensity which causes electron cyclotron resonance to occur at the frequency f of the applied RF power. Particularly, when the frequency f of the RF power is 13.56 MHz, the magnetic field intensity is selected to be in the range from 25 gausses to 35 gausses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1989
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihisa Yoshida, Kentaro Setsune, Takashi Hirao
  • Patent number: 4850188
    Abstract: Apparatus for generating a stream of high temperature gaseous material comprises a pressure container having an inlet for air under pressure and a restricted outlet orifice. An electrode is within the container, insulated from it, and connected to a source of direct current; it has a discharge point adjacent and aligned with the outlet orifice. The wall of the orifice is conductive and connected to ground. The space between the electrode and the container may converge towards the outlet. A method in which air is compressed within a container having a restricted orifice, at least the portion of the air within the container which is adjacent the orifice is ionized, the excited electrons and ions discharging rapidly from the container through the orifice water or fuel may be introduced into the discharging material, for generation of steam or for combustion, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1984
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1989
    Assignee: Testone Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventor: Anthony Q. Testone
  • Patent number: 4849675
    Abstract: The invention relates to an inductively excited ion source with a vessel (1) around which a coil (2) is wound. The vessel (1) consists of a chemically inert material and is used to receive the substance to be ionized. A high-frequency generator (12) is connected by one of its terminals to the coil (2) both ends of which are grounded, while the other terminal (22) is also grounded. The length of the coil (2) which is to be regarded as an electrically long conductor, is .lambda./2, .lambda. being the wavelength of the voltage of the high-frequency generator (12) (FIG. 3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 18, 1989
    Assignee: Leybold AG
    Inventor: Jurgen Muller
  • Patent number: 4841197
    Abstract: Ion source including an electric discharge chamber body divided by a partition, having an anode electrode therein, into a main discharge chamber and a subsidiary discharge chamber. The subsidiary discharge chamber has a filament mounted therein aligned with at least one small opening through the partition wall and the anode electrode. An inert gas opening is provided into the subsidiary discharge chamber. An electric discharge gas opening and an ion outlet opening are provided to the main discharge chamber. Magnets are provided outside of the chamber body for creating a magnetic field extending nearly along an axis of the at least one small opening in the anode electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1987
    Date of Patent: June 20, 1989
    Assignee: Nihon Shinku Gijutsu Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuo Takayama, Eiji Yabe, Kenichi Takagi, Ryota Fukui, Riichi Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 4806829
    Abstract: An apparatus utilizing charged particles comprises a means for generating charged particles which are irradiated on the surface of a material and a means for generating plasma in the neighborhood of the surface of the material. The plasma generated by the plasma generating means can neutralize incident charge, to prevent an accumulation of the charge on the surface of the material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 21, 1989
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shuji Nakao
  • Patent number: 4797597
    Abstract: A microwave ion source is disclosed and includes a plain rectangular waveguide having a first section to which a microwave generator is coupled, a second section defining a discharge chamber and an intervening transformer section dimensioned to provide for transmission of microwaves between the first section and the second section substantially without impedance losses. The first and second sections have uniform rectangular internal cross-sectional shapes defined by a first dimension which, for both sections equals one half of the wavelength of the microwaves, and a second, smaller dimension which is less than the second section of the waveguide than in the first section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1989
    Inventor: Norman A. Bostrom
  • Patent number: 4794298
    Abstract: An ion beam source adapted to provide a plurality of parallel planar ion beams the centers of which are superimposed and the planes of which are inclined at an angle to the line joining their centers such that a geometric projection of the ion beams in a direction orthogonal to that joining the centers of the ion beams is continuous.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1986
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1988
    Assignee: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
    Inventor: Gary Proudfoot
  • Patent number: 4775818
    Abstract: A liquid metal ion source and alloy, wherein the species to be emitted from the ion source is contained in a congruently vaporizing alloy. In one embodiment, the liquid metal ion source acts as a source of arsenic, and in a source alloy the arsenic is combined with palladium, preferably in a liquid alloy having a range of compositions from about 24 to about 33 atomic percent arsenic. Such an alloy may be readily prepared by a combustion synthesis technique. Liquid metal ion sources thus prepared produce arsenic ions for implantation, have long lifetimes, and are highly stable in operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1986
    Date of Patent: October 4, 1988
    Assignees: Hughes Aircraft Company, Oregon Graduate Center, The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: William M. Clark, Jr., Mark W. Utlaut, Robert G. Behrens, Eugene G. Szklarz, Edmund K. Storms, Robert P. Santandrea, Lynwood W. Swanson
  • Patent number: 4774437
    Abstract: An ion source for an intense ion beam from a solid source is formed with a cathode around a central anode. A source of magnetic field with closely spaced poles is formed around a central region of the cathode so that the most intense region of the magnetic field is a torus on the inside of the cathode and the field at the anode is weak. A torus of plasma can be formed near the inside surface of the cathode which can be coated with solid source material. An ion beam can be extracted through an aperture in the cathode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1988
    Assignee: Varian Associates, Inc.
    Inventors: John C. Helmer, Kenneth J. Doniger
  • Patent number: 4749912
    Abstract: An ion-producing apparatus comprises an electron-producing vessel having an electron-producing chamber, an ion-producing vessel having an ion-producing chamber communicating with the electron-producing chamber, a cathode provided at one end of the electron-producing vessel, an accelerating electrode provided within the ion-producing chamber, for allowing passage of electrons, an anode provided between the cathode and the accelerating electrode, and a power supply circuit for providing a potential difference between the cathode and the anode, thereby to produce electrons in the gap between the cathode and the anode. A vacuum pump is provided for evacuating gas from the ion-producing chamber. A partition is provided within the electron-producing vessel, between the cathode and the anode to divide the electron-producing vessel into a cathode-side chamber and an anode-side chamber, and hinders a gas flow from the cathode-side chamber to the anode-side chamber to apply a pressure difference between both chambers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1987
    Date of Patent: June 7, 1988
    Assignees: Rikagaku Kenkyusho, Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Tamio Hara, Manabu Hamagaki, Yoshinobu Aoyagi, Susumu Namba, Nobuo Ishii, Naoki Takayama, Kohei Kawamura
  • Patent number: 4714860
    Abstract: An ion generating apparatus utilizing a vacuum chamber, a cathode and an anode in the chamber. A source of electrical power produces an arc or discharge between the cathode and anode. The arc is sufficient to vaporize a portion of the cathode to form a plasma. The plasma is directed to an extractor which separates the electrons from the plasma, and accelerates the ions to produce an ion beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1987
    Inventors: Ian G. Brown, James Galvin
  • Patent number: 4670685
    Abstract: A liquid metal ion source and alloy for the simultaneous ion evaporation of arsenic and boron, arsenic and phosphorus, or arsenic, boron and phosphorus. The ionic species to be evaporated are contained in palladium-arsenic-boron and palladium-arsenic-boron-phosphorus alloys. The ion source, including an emitter means such as a needle emitter and a source means such as U-shaped heater element, is preferably constructed of rhenium and tungsten, both of which are readily fabricated. The ion sources emit continuous beams of ions having sufficiently high currents of the desired species to be useful in ion implantation of semiconductor wafers for preparing integrated circuit devices. The sources are stable in operation, experience little corrosion during operation, and have long operating lifetimes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1986
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1987
    Assignee: Hughes Aircraft Company
    Inventors: William M. Clark, Jr., Mark W. Utlaut, Joseph A. Wysocki, Edmund K. Storms, Eugene G. Szklarz, Robert G. Behrens, Lynwood W. Swanson, Anthony E. Bell
  • Patent number: 4641029
    Abstract: Hitherto, ionizing strips (24) arranged on a magazine wheel located in the analyzer head of a mass spectrometer have first been preheated in the measuring position, then heated up and subsequently subjected to the actual measuring operation. The result of this has been that the same time-consuming heating operation has had to be repeated completely for another ionizing strip (24) ready for measurement. It has therefore been impossible to carry out measurements comparing ionizing strips (24) directly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 1984
    Date of Patent: February 3, 1987
    Inventors: Karl-Eugen Habfast, Gunter Kappus, Horst Rache, Bernd Windel
  • Patent number: 4636680
    Abstract: An ionization gauge of the type including a source of electrons, an accelerating electrode for accelerating said electrons through a volume generally defined by said accelerating electrode and a collector electrode, disposed in the volume. Ions are collected by the collector electrode. The accelerating electrode comprises a substantially closed anode having an internal cavity to precisely define the volume. An aperture is disposed to admit said electrons from the source into the closed volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 1983
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1987
    Assignee: Granville-Phillips Company
    Inventors: Daniel G. Bills, Paul C. Arnold, Stephen L. Dodgen, Craig B. Van Cleve
  • Patent number: 4629930
    Abstract: A plasma ion source includes a discharge chamber in which a plasma is produced by plasma generator, with an acceleration electrode being disposed adjacent to the discharge chamber in order to extract ions from the produced plasma. A deceleration electrode is disposed adjacent to the acceleration electrode to decelerate the extracted ions, and a ground electrode is disposed adjacent to the deceleration electrode. An insulator container is disposed so as to surround the discharge chamber and the respective electrodes, and a shield ring electrode of ground potential is disposed in the vicinity of the deceleration electrode and along an inner wall surface of the insulator container in order to prevent any discharge from arising across the deceleration electrode and the ground electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 1983
    Date of Patent: December 16, 1986
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Noriyuki Sakudo, Osami Okada, Susumu Ozasa, Katsumi Tokiguchi, Hidemi Koike, Shunroku Taya, Mitsunori Komatsumoto, Mitsuo Komatsu
  • Patent number: 4551650
    Abstract: The field-emission-type ion source according to the present invention comprises an emitter tip, a heater, a reservoir which stores material to be ionized, an extracting electrode situated at the front end of the emitter tip, and a coating-layer which is refractory and anti-reactive with the material to be ionized and which is coated on at least the heater of the emitter tip and heater, in order to prevent their reactions with the material to be ionized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1982
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1985
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tamotsu Noda, Hifumi Tamura, Hiroshi Okano
  • Patent number: 4367429
    Abstract: Alloys suitable for use in liquid metal field ionization ion sources are provided. Such sources include an anode electrode for supporting an ion emitter comprising an alloy in the liquid state. The source further comprises means for generating an ionizing electric field and a reservoir for the liquid metal, ions of which are to be emitted by the source.The alloys are selected from the group consisting of (a) metal-metalloid alloys comprising about 10 to 30 atom percent of at least one metalloid element, the balance at least one transition metal element, (b) early transition-late transition alloys comprising about 30 to 85 atom percent of at least one early transition metal, the balance at least one late transition metal, and (c) Group II alloys comprising about 35 to 80 atom percent of at least one Group II element, the balance at least one metal element.Ions generated in liquid metal ion sources form a high brightness ion beam, which permits focusing a beam of emitted ions to a submicrometer spot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1980
    Date of Patent: January 4, 1983
    Assignee: Hughes Aircraft Company
    Inventors: Victor Wang, Joseph A. Wysocki, Gregory L. Tangonan, Robert L. Seliger
  • Patent number: 4344019
    Abstract: An ion source of the Penning discharge type having a self-cleaning aperture is provided by a second dynode (24) with an exit aperture (12) in a position opposite a first dynode 10a, from which the ions are sputtered, two opposing cathodes (14, 16), each with an anode (18, 20) for accelerating electrons emitted from the cathodes into a cylindrical space defined by the first and second dynode. A support gas maintained in this space is ionized by the electrons. While the cathodes are supplied with a negative pulse to emit electrons, the first dynode is supplied with a negative pulse (e.g., -300 V) to attract atoms of the ionized gas (plasma). At the same time, the second dynode may also be supplied with a small voltage that is negative with respect to the plasma (e.g., -5 V) for tuning the position of the plasma miniscus for optimum extraction geometry. When the negative pulse to the first dynode is terminated, the second dynode is driven strongly negative (e.g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1980
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1982
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Basil F. Gavin, Robert A. MacGill, Raymond K. Thatcher
  • Patent number: 4325005
    Abstract: The ion accelerator comprises an arrangement consisting of getter pumps and gas storages. This makes for a possibility of gas pressure and gas phase composition control in the device after its being unsoldered from the vacuum installation. The device is equipped with an evaporator and an additional gas storage which permit renovating the target surface as required. Proposed herein is a method ensuring higher efficiency of the device operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 1979
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1982
    Inventor: Emil A. Ab
  • Patent number: 4293794
    Abstract: A system based on the magnetic compression of ion rings, for generating intense (high-current), high-energy ion pulses that are guided to a target without a metallic wall or an applied external magnetic field includes a vacuum chamber; an inverse reflex tetrode for producing a hollow ion beam within the chamber; magnetic coils for producing a magnetic field, B.sub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1980
    Date of Patent: October 6, 1981
    Inventor: Christos A. Kapetanakos
  • Patent number: 4288716
    Abstract: A direct heated rod-shaped cathode for an ion source is provided with a region of reduced cross-section adjacent its negative end to maximize the path length of electron movement within the discharge chamber and to provide effective control of the cathode resistance in a region that is relatively free of sputtering erosion during use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1979
    Date of Patent: September 8, 1981
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Holger Hinkel, Georg Kraus
  • Patent number: 4240007
    Abstract: The present invention describes an ion gun which is capable of producing relatively high density ion currents. The ion gun employs at least one capillary duct the surface of which is semiconducting and has secondary electron emission coefficient greater than one to generate ions from a source of an ionizable material and to accelerate the ions so generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1979
    Date of Patent: December 16, 1980
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Russell W. Dreyfus, Nicholas A. Penebre, Richard A. McCorkle
  • Patent number: 4236097
    Abstract: Two current supply conductors connected to an emissive filament located within a vacuum enclosure are each constituted by a leak-tight tube formed of material other than a heavy metal which traverses the enclosure wall through a leak-tight bushing, and by a conductor of electrically conductive heavy metal such as copper which is placed inside the leak-tight tube and completely isolated from the vacuum enclosure. This arrangement permits the continued use of heavy metals such as copper for current supply to ion sources without any attendant danger of heavy metal ion formation in the emitted beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1978
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1980
    Assignee: Agence Nationale de Valorisation de la Recherche (ANVAR)
    Inventors: Jean Camplan, Jacques Chaumont, Robert Meunier
  • Patent number: 4232244
    Abstract: A compact, maintainable 80-keV arc chamber, extractor module for a neutral beam system immersed in a vacuum of <10.sup.-2 Torr, incorporating a nested 60-keV gradient shield located midway between the high voltage ion source and surrounding grounded frame. The shield reduces breakdown or arcing path length without increasing the voltage gradient, tends to keep electric fields normal to conducting surfaces rather than skewed and reduces the peak electric field around irregularities on the 80-keV electrodes. The arc chamber or ion source is mounted separately from the extractor or ion accelerator to reduce misalignment of the accelerator and to permit separate maintenance to be performed on these systems. The separate mounting of the ion source provides for maintaining same without removing the ion accelerator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 1978
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1980
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Joel H. Fink, Arthur W. Molvik
  • Patent number: 4220545
    Abstract: Ionization chamber for the chemical ionization of vapors of substances in ion-molecule reactions by means of ionizing primary particles and a reactance gas, having at least one inlet opening for feeding the reaction partners and at least one outlet opening for the reaction products formed in the chamber. As shown, the ionization chamber has an elongated shape. The inlet opening for the ionizing primary particles on the one hand, and the outlet opening for the reaction products on the other hand, are arranged in alignment in opposite end walls of the ionization chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1978
    Date of Patent: September 2, 1980
    Assignee: Dr. Franzen Analysentechnik GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft
    Inventors: Jochen Franzen, Gerhard Weiss
  • Patent number: 4214187
    Abstract: An ion source supplying a dense flux of low energy ions containing very few neutral particles. It comprises: a microwave circuit in which an electromagnetic wave propagates along a direction ZZ, the conducting elements forming this circuit being arranged periodically and being ring-shaped, inlet means for a neutral gas at the center of the microwave circuit, this gas being ionized thanks to the energy supplied to it by the microwave, a magnetic field guiding the resulting plasma in the direction ZZ, and means for pumping the unionized atoms in a direction normal to the direction ZZ, all along the microwave circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1979
    Date of Patent: July 22, 1980
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventor: Georges Mourier
  • Patent number: 4194139
    Abstract: A reflex tetrode device for efficiently generating intense, pulsed unidirional ion beams. The device includes two thin, semitransparent anodes spaced from a real cathode which is maintained at ground potential. The first anode is spaced from and faces the real cathode. The second anode is spaced a short distance from the first anode and a virtual cathode is formed beyond the second anode when a sufficiently high electron current flows from the real cathode and through the anodes. The anodes are ring-like or disc-like structures secured to the edges of a support member with their planes perpendicular to the axis of the device between the real and virtual cathodes. The anode structure (i.e., the support member together with the two anodes) is connected to a pulsed high-voltage generator which is operated in positive polarity. Consequently, both anodes are at the same positive potential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1978
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1980
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: John A. Pasour, Christos A. Kapetanakos, Redge A. Mahaffey, Jeffry Golden
  • Patent number: 4176311
    Abstract: Smoke is detected by a surface ionization effect on a heated wire filament disposed opposite a negative ion collector electrode. Current flow between the wire and the electrode increases in the presence of smoke. The increase is probably attributable to surface ionization of smoke particles on the heated wire.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1976
    Date of Patent: November 27, 1979
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: William D. Davis
  • Patent number: 4145629
    Abstract: An evacuated chamber contains a source of primary ions, a charge-exchange box, the inlet of which is supplied by the primary ion source and delivers at the outlet a primary molecular or atomic beam which is at least partially neutralized, a target of the material to be ionized which intercepts the emergent primary beam from the charge-exchange box and which is of such geometry that the primary beam undergoes multiple reflections from the target, the target being placed within a chamber which is brought to a potential opposite to that of the polarity of the ions produced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 1976
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1979
    Inventor: Fernand M. Devienne
  • Patent number: 4126806
    Abstract: A reflex triode for use in producing ultra-high-current (>10.sup.5 A), ul-high-power (>10.sup.11 W) ion beams includes an improved anode and an improved cathode and has a low inductance design. A cylindrical anode stalk supporting the anode is positioned inside of and closely spaced from a cylindrical cathode shank which supports the cathode. Magnetic insulation allows for a close spacing between the anode stalk and cathode shank which reduces the inductance. The improved cathode is embedded in a cathode mount to reduce divergence of the ion beam. The improved anode consists of conducting concentric rings with thin film in the space between the rings to produce a more uniformly dense ion beam having low divergence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1977
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1978
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Christos A. Kapetanakos, Jeffry Golden
  • Patent number: 4123686
    Abstract: A source for generating singly and/or multiply charged ions composed essentially of a glow cathode, an intermediate electrode and an anode electrode having a common axis of symmetry and bordering a gas discharge chamber and each presenting a passage opening coaxial with the axis of symmetry, and a system producing a magnetic field having an axial component along the axis of symmetry, with the anode electrode opening being at a location where the magnitude of the axial component of the magnetic field is substantially equal to its maximum value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1977
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1978
    Assignee: Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung mbH
    Inventors: Roderich Keller, Michael Muller
  • Patent number: 4104875
    Abstract: An ion prime mover or engine includes an ionization chamber closed up by a plasma boundary anchor. A field winding surrounds the ionization chamber for producing a high frequency electromagnetic alternating field. Such field ionizes a gas in the ionization chamber. The ion engine further includes an anode-cathode path for producing an electrostatic field, wherein the ionized gas is accelerated out of the ionization chamber through the apertures in the plasma boundary anchor and in the cathode. The high frequency electromagnetic alternating field is arranged in such a manner that this field is substantially undisturbed in the area of the plasma boundary anchor and that the field lines extend substantially perpendicularly to the surface of the plasma boundary anchor facing the ionization chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1976
    Date of Patent: August 8, 1978
    Assignee: Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm GmbH
    Inventors: Winfried Birner, Hans Mueller, Horst Listmann, Helmut Bassner
  • Patent number: 4087721
    Abstract: The ion source according to the invention comprises a hollow cathode discharge arrangement 10 in which a plasma is produced by the ionization of a gas under the effect of a positive d.c. voltage applied to an anode 3 in relation to two cathodes 1 and 20. One of these cathodes 20 is formed with holes 30 through which some of the ions of the plasma escape. A filament 7 emits slow electrons towards this cathode, neutralizing the space charge created ahead of this cathode by the ions having left the arrangement and enables them to be propagated towards a point of use 40 situated at a considerable distance. A grid 8 limits the number of these electrons entering the arrangement 10. The source provides ion beams of clearly defined energy and high density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 1976
    Date of Patent: May 2, 1978
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventor: Georges Mourier
  • Patent number: 4058748
    Abstract: An ion source for emitting an efficient radiation of ion beam having a rectangular cross section includes a set of parallel electrodes to which a microwave power is supplied to generate a microwave electric field in an electrode gap. A DC magnetic field is applied in a direction along the opposing surfaces of the electrodes to provide a microwave discharge in the electrode gap in cooperation with the microwave electric field crossing therewith. The electrode gap or discharge space has a rectangular cross section perpendicular to a direction along which ions produced by the microwave discharge are extracted as an ion beam with a side of the cross section corresponding to the distance between the electrodes being shorter than its side crossing therewith. This allows the efficient generation of the ion beam having the rectangular cross section through one or more extraction electrodes which include rectangular slits corresponding in pattern to the above-mentioned cross section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 1976
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1977
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Noriyuki Sakudo, Katsumi Tokiguchi, Ichiro Kanomata
  • Patent number: 4049989
    Abstract: Apparatus for providing ions having a specific electric charge to a stream of working fluid are disclosed. The ions are produced by a variety of techniques in a volume of the working fluid which is maintained in a protected region within the stream. An electric field draws ions away from the production region and makes them available to the stream of fluid. In many applications an independent electric field is applied to the flowing fluid to move the ions within the working fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1975
    Date of Patent: September 20, 1977
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Robert H. Bullis, Walter J. Wiegand, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4011719
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a screen anode for an ion thruster. The anode is constructed of a woven mesh screen, preferably of a stainless steel wire cloth with a mesh size less than the intergrid gap or openings of the screen grid or accelerator grid systems of the ion thruster. The screen anode is sputter coated with tantalum as a result of thruster operation. Because of the fineness of the screen anode any spalled material from the tantalum coated anode is in such small dimensions that the spalled pieces cannot interfere with the accelerator and screen grid systems and with the focusing therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1976
    Date of Patent: March 15, 1977
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of General Counsel-Code GP
    Inventor: Bruce A. Banks
  • Patent number: 3979625
    Abstract: A sensor assembly for a halogenated gas leak detector is characterized by having a porous ceramic spacer element positioned around a central electrode and around portions of the turns of a helical heater coil in order to hold these component parts and the respective turns of the coil in fixed, spaced-apart relationship. The central electrode and the turns of the heater coil are formed of fine, closely spaced, flexible wire that must be held in a predetermined position when the sensor is assembled. To construct the sensor pursuant to a preferred method of the invention, a coating of porous ceramic material is deposited and cured on the central electrode and the pores of this coating are loaded with an alkali metal salt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1975
    Date of Patent: September 7, 1976
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: John A. Roberts
  • Patent number: 3956711
    Abstract: An electrode switch arrangement for producing a fast-rise, long-path-length, uniform electron beam for short wavelength laser pumping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 1973
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1976
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventor: Ronald W. Waynant