A deceleration system at the Heidelberg EBIT providing very slow highly charged ions for surface nanostructuring

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Vol. 268; no. 19; pp. 2972 - 2976
• Main Authors: Ginzel, R., Higgins, S.G., Mrowcynski, P., Northway, P., Simon, M.C., Tawara, H., Crespo López-Urrutia, J.R., Ullrich, J., Kowarik, G., Ritter, R., Meissl, W., Vasko, C., Gösselsberger, C., El-Said, A.S., Aumayr, F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-10-2010
• Subjects: Beams (radiation); Deceleration; Detectors; Electron beam ion trap; Focusing; Highly charged ions; Ion–surface interaction; Kinetic energy; Low energy ions; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Nanostructure; Surface nanostructuring; Surface nanostructuring; Highly charged ions; Low energy ions; Electron beam ion trap; Ion–surface interaction
• ISSN: 0168-583X; 1872-9584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2010.05.020

Recently, it has been demonstrated that each single-impact of a slow (typically 1–2
keV/u) highly charged ion (HCI) creates truly topographic and non-erasable nanostructures on CaF
2 surfaces. To further explore the possibility of nanostructuring various surfaces, using mainly the potential energy stored in such HCIs, projectiles with kinetic energies as low as possible are required. For this purpose a new apparatus, capable of focusing and decelerating an incoming ion beam onto a solid or gaseous target, has been installed at the Heidelberg electron beam ion trap (EBIT). An X-ray detector and a position-sensitive particle detector are utilized to analyze the beam and collision products. First experiments have already succeeded in lowering the kinetic energy of HCIs from 10
keV/q, down to ∼30
eV/q, and in focusing the decelerated beam to spot sizes of less than 1
mm
2, while maintaining the kinetic energy spread below ∼20
eV/q.