Ion Pump Design for Improved Pumping Speed at Low Pressure

Even if ion pumps are widely and mostly used in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions, virtually every existing ion pump has its maximum pumping speed around 1E-6 mbar (1E-4 Pa). Discharge intensity in the ion pump Penning cell is defined as the current divided by pressure (I/P). This quantity reflects the rate of cathode bombardment by ions, which underlies all of the various pumping mechanisms that occur in ion pumps (chemisorption on sputtered material, ion burial, etc.), and therefore is an indication of pumping speed. A study has been performed to evaluate the influence of magnetic fields and cell dimensions on the ion pump discharge intensity and consequently on the pumping speed at different pressures. As a result, a combination of parameters has been developed in order to design and build an ion pump with the pumping speed peak shifted towards lower pressures. Experimental results with several different test set-ups are presented and a prototype of a new 200 l/s ion pump with the maximum pumping speed in the 1E-8 mbar (1E-6 Pa) is described. A model of the system has also been developed to provide a framework for understanding the experimental observations.