Focused deposition of levitated nanoscale Au droplets

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel method for depositing nanoscale gold droplets that are levitated in an ion trap, melted, focused, and then rapidly solidified onto a substrate for analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a new technique combining ion trapping, laser heating, and electrostatic focusing for precise nanoscale gold droplet deposition.

Findings

Over 90% deposition efficiency.

Particles land within 120 μm diameter region after 236 mm transit.

Method enables analysis of levitated and melted materials.

Abstract

We describe a method for depositing nanoscale liquid Au droplets, initially levitated in an ion trap in high vacuum, onto a remote substrate. A levitated Au nanosphere is melted, expelled from the trap, and maintained in the molten state with a laser directed along the droplet trajectory until it reaches the substrate and rapidly solidifies. Also during transit, the charged droplets are focused to a small region of the substrate with an electrostatic lens. After deposition, the substrate can be removed from the vacuum chamber and imaged and analyzed by techniques such as electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Over 90% of launched particles are deposited on the substrate, and when the lens is focused, particles land in a region of diameter 120 $\mu$m after traversing a distance of 236 mm. Our technique is of value for analysis of materials prepared or processed while levitated that can be melted. Also, Au droplets may be useful as tracers for future experiments involving smaller projectiles or oriented solids.