Charged-particle transmission through insulating capillaries

Article By:

Tanis, John A. Department of Physics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Last reviewed:2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB130135

The interaction of charged particles with the inner walls of electrically insulating capillaries is a topic of considerable interest that was first investigated about 10 years ago and has been studied extensively in the last decade. The studies represent an interdisciplinary area of nanoscience lying at the intersection of atomic physics and materials science, although the emphasis of the work done to date has been on atomic physics. The investigations pose questions of a fundamental nature, as well as offering potential applications in science, medicine, and technology. In addition to the study of interactions that take place between the incident charged particles and the capillary walls, charged-particle transmission in capillaries can be used to produce micrometer- and submicrometer-sized particle beams for use in applications such as controlled surface modification or manipulation of samples, precise sample analysis, and medical diagnosis or treatment, even at the level of a single cell. Applications involving medical uses have been explored quite extensively in recent years. Capillaries might also be used as passive optical elements to focus or collimate charged-particle beams on the micrometer and submicrometer scales in applications in which high-density interaction regions are required, such as the production of crossed or merged beams to be used in studies of interactions with photons.

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