| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To achieve prolonged stable emission of ions by continuously supplying the substance to be ionized in a liquid metal ion source which has a container for storing the substance, a feeder and an auxiliary heater for melting the substance. CONSTITUTION:In the liquid metal ion source of this invention, a molten substance 2 to be ionized held in a reservoir 24 is discharged from the pointed end of a needle-like emitter chip 12 and a lead-out electrode 20 is used to lead out ions 22. The liquid metal ion source also has a container 32 for storing particles 2' of the substance to be ionized, a feeder 34 having a spiral rotary shaft 34a, and an auxiliary heater 33 having a receiver 51 heated by feeding currents to current introduction terminals 52 and 52'. The substance to be ionized is supplied into the reservoir 24 while being heated and molten and while controlling the supply of the substance. Accordingly, it is possible to continuously produce ions from the substance for a long time. Furthermore, it is also possible to achieve a constant characteristic of ion emission by preventing any temperature variation. |
