Origins and Reduction of Line Broadening in the Spectra of Fast Ion Beams

Abstract

Several factors associated with the high linear velocity of the emitters contribute to linewidths in the spectra of fast ion beams. These include broadening associated with the acceptance angles determined by the spectrometer's collimator and slit, diffraction at the entrance slit, decollimation due to scattering and external fields, and the limited time during which an ion can emit into the spectrometer. We discuss the observations of the known effects and those likely to appear, and consider methods for reducing them.