KEVION NEC Pelletron

NEC Pelletron Ion Accelerator (25-300 keV)

The National Electrostatics Corp. Pelletron ion implanter generates isotopically pure ion beams with energies between 25 and 300 keV for simulated space weathering, materials characterization, measurement of fundamental parameters, and instrument prototyping applications.

A schematic of the proposed 300 kV system is shown below. The NEC instrument is designed to provide beam currents of 300 µA into the beamline Faraday Cup. The system is designed so that ions are created and mass-selected at ~20 keV inside the high voltage terminal for improved mass resolution (~200 m/Δm).

The KEVION is expected to be fully operational in Fall/Winter 2025. 

Ion beams can be run in continuous or pulsed mode, depending on the intended application, and can be tuned to optimize the content of multiply charged ions. Ion beams that can be generated include singly- and doubly-charged (positive) H1, H2, H3, He, C, N1, N2, O, OH, CO, Ne, S, Ar, Kr, Xe, and more. With the addition of the vaporization or oven-cathode options, the source can also produce ion beams from volatile elements in solid (e.g., Na, Mg, Al, Ca, Mn, Ni, Cu, etc.) or liquid (e.g., P, As, Te, Hg, the halogens, etc.) form at room temperature. A sputtering option allows the source to generate ion beams from solids with medium to high melting points such as Fe & W.