Deuterium-ion-beam impurities produced by a gas-discharge ion source (duopigatron)

Abstract

Mass‐spectroscopic analyses of dc deuterium‐ion beams produced by a duopigatron ion source were carried out. These analyses showed that under normal operating conditions the beams contained less than 1% of impurities and consisted primarily of masses 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 and some metal ions. The source of the metal contaminants was the secondary cathode. Several cathode materials including Mo, Al, Al₂O₃, BN, and TiB₂ were tested.