Apparatus for producing a monatomic beam of ground-state atoms

摘要

An electron beam is directed into a first region containing gaseous molecules which capture electrons from the beam and then dissociate to produce negative ions. The ions are accelerated to the desired energy electrostatically and drawn to a second region where they are exposed to an intra-cavity laser beam which traverses their path. The laser is chosen to have a wavelength which will cause photodetachment of electrons to form neutral atoms. Simultaneously with the above, the electron beam and ions are collimated with a magnetic field. The neutral atoms are separated from any remaining ions or electrons by a repelling electrical potential provided by a repeller plate or the like.