Importance

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Abstract

A collision ionization ion source comprising:

A pair of stacked plates, sandwiched about an intervening gap;An input zone (aperture), provided in a first of said plates, to admit an input beam of charged particles to said gap;An output zone (aperture), located opposite said input zone and provided in the second of said plates, to allow emission of a flux of ions from said gap;A gas space, between said input and output zones, in which gas can be ionized by said input beam so as to produce said ions;A supply duct in said gap, for supplying a flow of said gas to said gas space, and comprising: An emergence orifice, opening into said gas space;An entrance orifice, connectable to a gas supply,wherein said duct comprises at least one transition region between said entrance orifice and said emergence orifice in which an inner height of said duct, measured normal to the plates, decreases from a first height value to a second height value.

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First Claim