Microstructured liquid metal ion and electron sources (MILMIS/MILMES)

Ion or electron beams can be emitted from liquid metal wetted needles, or from capillaries or slits into which the liquid metal is allowed to flow. Large-area liquid metal field emission sources have been proposed recently, using either two-dimensional, regular arrays of cones or capillaries, or even a substrate with an intrinsically microstructured surface covered by a liquid metal film. Now this latter concept has been realized in a pilot experiment by in situ wicking and wetting of a porous sintered metal disk. A similar concept had been applied formerly on a mercury film cathode supporting a low pressure arc discharge. Microstructured liquid metal ion or electron sources (MILMIS/MILMES) are capable of operating in a pulsed mode at a current level which is orders of magnitude above that for steady-state operation.