the research of the EMSG
 

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Clusters

The Clustering Process Seeded Supersonic Nozzle

Gas Aggregation
Electrospray Sputtering Laser Vapourisation (LVS)
Pulsed Arc Cluster Ion Source (PACIS)

Cluster Sources:Electrospray

Electrospray Source

Electrospray (or liquid-metal ion) sources work by coating a high melting point Tungsten needle with a molten metal and then applying a high voltage to the needle. The large electric field generated at the tip causes a fine spray of metal ions to be emitted. An extracting electrode and ion optics are then used to direct and focus cluster-ions, generating a beam of clusters.

This source is used to produce singly and multiply charged clusters of low melting point clusters. The clusters are initially very hot, but cool through evaporation and fission processes. Due to the characteristics of the clusters it produces, electrospray sources are often used in experiments involving multiply charged small clusters.