Patent ID: 6398920
Filing Date: 2002-06-04
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
A partially ionized plasma mass filter which comprises:a chamber; a means for introducing a feed into said chamber, said feed including metal atoms having ionization potentials in a low range and gas atoms having an ionization potential in a high range, wherein said low range is below said high range; a means for generating an electron temperature below said low range to partially ionize said feed by dissociating the metal atoms from the gas atoms, and by ionizing the metal atoms into light ions having a relatively low mass to charge ratio (M1) and heavy ions having a relatively high mass to charge ratio (M2); a means for influencing said light ions and said heavy ions with crossed electric and magnetic fields to separate said light ions from said heavy ions; a first collector positioned in said chamber to collect said light ions (M1); and a second collector positioned in said chamber to collect said heavy ions (M2).