E × B ion mass spectroscopy in magnetised plasmas

A spectrometer based on the E × B drift during the transit time of the ion through a cross field region has been tested in a hydrogen plasma in the Blaamann toroidal plasma device [T. Brundtland, Vacuum 43 (1992) 185]. The magnetic field B, is the field of the device. The electric field E, which is imposed and oriented perpendicular to the magnetic field, is swept with a time long compared to the ion transit time. The ions are accelerated along the magnetic field as they enters the cross field region giving them a velocity and a transit time proportional to the charge over the mass.