An Electrostatic System for Background Suppression during a Low-Intensity Ion Beam Detection

An electrostatic system enabling a 15-fold decrease of the cross section of an ion beam (electrostatic funnel) with a simultaneous beam reversal before hitting a detector is described. The system considerably improves the signal-to-noise ratio and helps the use of a detector with a small-area entrance window for ion detection. The funnel electrode sizes are shown to enable manufacturing.