Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Electron Beam System for Electron Beam Ion Trap

High density, uniform electron beam (e-beam) is required in the EBIT to produce highly charged ions (HCIs), better confinement of HCIs, and facilitate analysis and interpretation of data. A novel high density e-beam system using carbon nanotube (CNT) field emitters is proposed to upgrade NIST EBIT system. Due to the extraordinary attributes of CNT emitters, the proposed e-beam system will have many advantages over the thermionic e-beam system: high e- beam density, small beam size, room temperature operation to eliminate thermal radiation related problems, voltage controllable emission for quick switching and low power consumption. After the phase II work, the novel e-beam system is expected to achieve following features: total current of 150 ~ 200mA from 0.3cm in diameter emission area, lifetime of more than 2 years, beam size <50um after magnetic focusing (7650-10200A/cm2 beam current density). COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The CNT based field emission electron beam system with high current density (up to 104 A/cm2) and small beam size (<50 ¿m) will be able to replace the current thermionic system used in the NIST EBIT and other EBIT / HCI facilities to upgrade their capabilities. Due to its structural and performance advantages, the new electron beam system will benefit any analytical instruments and manufacturing facilities (i.e., lithography and e-beam welding), where high density, small focus electron beam is required. The techniques developed through this project will be also very useful for numerous other applications such as free electron lasers, high power vacuum electronic amplifiers for communication applications, electric propulsion