https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/s10053-022-00349-y
Regular Article – Atomic and Molecular Collisions
A high-resolution, variable-energy electron beam from a Penning–Malmberg (Surko) buffer-gas trap
1
Research School of Physics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
2
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska, 68588-0299, Lincoln, NE, USA
3
Department of Actuarial Science and Applied Statistics, Faculty of Business and Information Science, UCSI University, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Received:
25
October
2021
Accepted:
13
January
2022
Published online:
15
February
2022
We describe the production of a high-resolution electron beam using a Penning–Malmberg buffer-gas trap, or Surko trap as they have become known. A high-flux beam with an energy width of ~ 30 meV (FWHM) is readily achieved and the efficiency of production is considerably higher than that for positrons in a similar trap configuration. The reasons for this become apparent when one considers the molecular collisions and the respective selection rules involved, for electrons and positrons. We demonstrate the production of the beam and the capacity that it realises for absolute scattering measurements and for high-resolution electron spectroscopy.
© The Author(s) 2022
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