A magnetic guide to purify radical beams

Generating a controllable and pure source of molecular free-radicals or open-shell atoms has been one of the primary barriers hindering the detailed study of radical processes in the laboratory. Here, we introduce a novel magnetic guide for the generation of a pure beam of velocity-selected radicals...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of chemical physics 2018-11, Vol.149 (17), p.174201-174201
Main Authors: Toscano, Jutta, Rennick, Christopher J., Softley, Timothy P., Heazlewood, Brianna R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Deceleration
Physics
Radicals
Stability
Velocity
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Summary:Generating a controllable and pure source of molecular free-radicals or open-shell atoms has been one of the primary barriers hindering the detailed study of radical processes in the laboratory. Here, we introduce a novel magnetic guide for the generation of a pure beam of velocity-selected radicals—a tuneable source that will enable the study of radical interactions with exceptional control over the properties of the radical species. Only radicals with a selected velocity are transmitted through the guide; all other components of the incoming beam (radical species traveling at other velocities, precursor molecules, and seed gas) are removed. The guide is composed of four Halbach arrays—hexapolar focusing elements—and two skimming blades. The relative positions of these components can be adjusted to tune the properties of the resulting beam and to optimise transmission for a given velocity. Experimental measurements of Zeeman-decelerated H atoms transmitted through the guide, combined with extensive simulations, show that the magnetic guide removes 99% of H-atoms traveling outside the narrow target velocity range.
ISSN:0021-9606
1089-7690
DOI:10.1063/1.5053656