Time-Resolved Mass and Energy Analysis

Abstract

A new method for time - resolved mass and kinetic energy analysis of ionic or neutral species in the range of 1 to 150 amu and 0.5 to 500 eV is described. Time - of - flight mass spectrometry is combined with position - sensitive detection to measure energy spectra for multiple masses at burst - mode sampling rates as high as 50 kHz. The detector is a rectangular microchannel plate with a 96 - element metal anode array that is read out either by fast analog - to - digital converters or by discriminators and scalers. The apparatus is configured so that the measured ion drift time varies as the square root of the mass - to - charge ratio and the displacement along the detector varies as the square root of the energy - to - charge ratio. Applications are envisioned in plasma analysis, in beam - scattering experiments, and in diagnostic measurements for spacecraft propulsion.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 08, 1991
Accession Number
ADA235938

Entities

People

  • D. A. Lichtin
  • J. E. Pollard
  • R. B. Cohen
  • S. W. Janson

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplifiers
  • Charged Particles
  • Construction
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Ion Beams
  • Kinetic Energy
  • Mass Spectra
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Measurement
  • Microchannel Plates
  • Particle Beams
  • Scattering
  • Spectrometry
  • Square Roots
  • Two Dimensional
  • Voltage

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Plasma Physics.
  • Radio communications and signal processing.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster