Micro And Nanostructured Materials For Fluid And Ion Transport For Miniaturized Applications
Abstract
Ionic Liquid Ion Sources (ILIS) are devices capable of producing molecular ion beams through electrostatic stressing of room temperature molten salts, or ionic liquids. These ion beams can be applied in space propulsion, in focused ion beams for microfabrication and in reactive ion etching. To achieve ion evaporation from the ionic liquid, the liquid is supported on a micron-sized emitter tip. The emitter is subjected to an electric field to deform the liquid into a sharp meniscus, at the apex of which the electric field can be high enough to trigger ion evaporation. Novel emitter configurations are required to guarantee the stable operation of these sources in the pure ion regime (PIR) with no intervening droplets. With AOARD support, analytical estimates have been performed to determine tip geometries and substrates morphologies required for the emitter to support PIR operation. Furthermore, novel nanomaterials have been investigated as alternative ILIS substrates. In particular, porous carbon xerogels have been identified as emitter materials, as they have outstanding pore uniformity, are easy to shape into the required geometries, and are compatible with ionic liquids. These substrates also have the adequate pore sizes and porosities established by the analytical estimates.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 08, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1026617
Entities
People
- Paulo Lozano
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology