Electron Impact Ionization Source Design, Modeling, and Testing

A previously designed ion source is modified, modeled, and tested, and the results are shown. This ion source is developed from the paper “Improved electron ionization ion source for the detection of supersonic molecular beams” published by Amirav et al. in 2002. It detailed a Brinks-type electron ionization source designed for use in a hypersonic beam, which is similar to the environment in LEO. Modifications to the original design were made, including using advanced 3D printed mesh for cylindrical grids, and the source was simulated it in SIMION. A complete ion source was built and tested with both thermalized species and in a neutral beam.