A modified ion sputter source with increased lifetime

The sputter ion source HVEE 860-C has shown after an operation time of some thousands hours significant erosion of inner source parts. This is caused by Cs ions generated at hot surfaces outside of the spherical ioniser surface.
The calculated trajectories of these ions and the erosion patterns show an excellent correspondence. The suppression of the disturbing ions has resulted in increased lifetimes of the ion source and an improved focus of the primary Cs ions on the sputter target.