Performance of a Low Energy Ion Source with Carbon Nanotube Electron Emitters under the Influence of Various Operating Gases

Zhang, Huzhong; Li, Detian; Wurz, Peter; Etter, Adrian; Cheng, Yongjun; Dong, Changkun; Huang, Weijun (2020). Performance of a Low Energy Ion Source with Carbon Nanotube Electron Emitters under the Influence of Various Operating Gases. Nanomaterials, 10(2), p. 354. MDPI 10.3390/nano10020354

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Low energy ion measurements in the vicinity of a comet have provided us with importantinformation about the planet’s evolution. The calibration of instruments for thermal ions in thelaboratory plays a crucial role when analysing data from in-situ measurements in space. A new lowenergy ion source based on carbon nanotube electron emitters was developed for calibrating theion-mode of mass spectrometers or other ion detectors. The electron field emission (FE) properties ofcarbon nanotubes (CNTs) for H2, He, Ar, O2, and CO2gases were tested in the experiments. H2, He,Ar, and CO2adsorbates could change the FE temporarily at pressures from10−6Pa to10−4Pa. The FEof CNT remains stable in Ar and increases in H2, but degrades in He, O2, and CO2. All gas adsorbateslead to temporary degradation after working for prolonged periods. The ion current of the ion sourceis measured by using a Faraday cup and the sensitivity is derived from this measurement. The ioncurrents for the different gases were around 10 pA (corresponding to 200 ions/cm3s) and an energy of~28 eV could be observed.

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