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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.

We present a solid-state NMR study of H2 molecules confined inside the cavity of C70 fullerene cages over a wide range of temperatures (300 K to 4 K). The proton NMR spectra are consistent with a model in which the dipole-dipole coupling between the ortho-H2 protons is averaged over the rotational/translational states of the confined quantum rotor, with an additional chemical shift anisotropy δ(H)(CSA)=10.1 ppm induced by the carbon cage. The magnitude of the chemical shift anisotropy is consistent with DFT estimates of the chemical shielding tensor field within the cage. The experimental NMR data indicate that the ground state of endohedral ortho-H2 in C70 is doubly degenerate and polarized transverse to the principal axis of the cage. The NMR spectra indicate significant magnetic alignment of the C70 long axes along the magnetic field, at temperatures below ~10 K.

Inelastic neutron scattering, far-infrared spectroscopy, and cryogenic nuclear magnetic resonance are used to investigate the quantized rotation and ortho–para conversion of single water molecules trapped inside closed fullerene cages. The existence of metastable ortho -water molecules is demonstrated, and the interconversion of ortho -and para -water spin isomers is tracked in real time. Our investigation reveals that the ground state of encapsulated ortho water has a lifted degeneracy, associated with symmetry-breaking of the water environment.

Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) has been employed to investigate the quantum dynamics of water molecules permanently entrapped inside the cages of C60 fullerene molecules. This study of the supramolecular complex, H2O@C60, provides the unique opportunity to study isolated water molecules in a highly symmetric environment. Free from strong interactions, the water molecule has a high degree of rotational freedom enabling its nuclear spin isomers, ortho-H2O and para-H2O to be separately identified and studied. The INS technique mediates transitions between the ortho and para spin isomers and using three INS spectrometers, the rotational levels of H2O have been investigated, correlating well with the known levels in gaseous water. The slow process of nuclear spin conversion between ortho-H2O and para-H2O is revealed in the time dependence of the INS peak intensities over periods of many hours. Of particular interest to this study is the observed splitting of the ground state of ortho-H2O, raising the three-fold degeneracy into two states with degeneracy 2 and 1 respectively. This is attributed to a symmetry-breaking interaction of the water environment.

The water-endofullerene H2O@C60 provides a unique chemical system in which freely rotating water molecules are confined inside homogeneous and symmetrical carbon cages. The spin conversion between the ortho and para species of the endohedral H2O was studied in the solid phase by low-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance. The experimental data are consistent with a second-order kinetics, indicating a bimolecular spin conversion process. Numerical simulations suggest the simultaneous presence of a spin diffusion process allowing neighbouring ortho and para molecules to exchange their angular momenta. Cross-polarization experiments found no evidence that the spin conversion of the endohedral H2O molecules is catalysed by (13)C nuclei present in the cages.

The longitudinal relaxation time of (79)Br nuclei in KBr is field independent, between 4.7 T and 14.1 T. The results suggest that inconsistencies in the literature are due to differences in the experimental set-ups. The limitations of KBr as temperature calibrant are discussed.

The accurate temperature measurement of solid samples under magic-angle spinning (MAS) is difficult in the cryogenic regime. It has been demonstrated by Thurber et al. (J. Magn. Reson., 196 (2009) 84-87) [10] that the temperature dependent spin-lattice relaxation time constant of (79)Br in KBr powder can be useful for measuring sample temperature under MAS over a wide temperature range (20-296 K). However the value of T(1) exceeds 3 min at temperatures below 20K, which is inconveniently long. In this communication, we show that the spin-lattice relaxation time constant of (127)I in CsI powder can be used to accurately measure sample temperature under MAS within a reasonable experimental time down to 10 K.

Microplasma sources typically take advantage of pd (pressure × size) scaling by increasing pressure to operate at dimensions as small as tens of microns. In many applications, low pressure operation is desirable, which makes miniaturization difficult. In this paper, the characteristics of low pressure microplasma sources excited by microwave power are discussed based on results from experimental and computational studies. The intended application is production of VUV radiation for chemical analysis, and so emphasis in this study is on the production of resonant excited states of rare gases and radiation transport. The systems of interest operate at a few to 10 Torr in Ar and He/Ar mixtures with cavity dimensions of hundreds of microns to 1 mm. Power deposition is a few watts which produces fractional ionization of about 0.1%. We found that production of VUV radiation from argon microplasmas at 104.8 nm and 106.7 nm saturates as a function of power deposition due to a quasi-equilibrium that is established between the electron temperature (that is not terribly sensitive to power deposition) and the population of the Ar(4s) manifold.

In this paper we investigate the feasibility of creating a high‐density ∼ 1012−1014 cm−3, large volume seed plasma in air constituents by laser (300 mJ, 20(±2) ns) preionization of an organic gas seeded in high‐pressure gas mixtures and then sustained by efficient absorption of rf power (1–25 kW pulsed) through inductive coupling of the wave fields. A multi‐turn helical antenna is used to couple radio‐frequency power through a capacitive matching network. A 105 GHz interferometer is employed to obtain the plasma density in the presence of high collisionality utilizing phase shift and amplitude attenuation data. TMAE Plasma decay mechanisms with and without the background gas are examined.

Static and magic-angle spinning (11)B nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data at 4.7 T and 8.5 T have been obtained under cryogenic conditions on a diluted sample of magnesium diboride powder in the normal and superconducting state. The data provide accurate information on the magnetic shift and longitudinal relaxation time down to a temperature of 8 K, with a resolution improvement over the entire temperature range. The onset of superconductivity is unaffected by the sample rotation, as revealed by a steep variation of the magnetic shift just below the critical temperature.

Neutral depletion effects are observed in a steady-state flowing argon helicon plasma with a magnetic nozzle for high rf input powers (up to 3kW). Noninvasive diagnostics including 105GHz microwave interferometry and optical spectroscopy with collisional-radiative modeling are used to measure the electron density (ne), electron temperature (Te), and neutral density (nn). A region of weak neutral depletion is observed upstream of the antenna where increasing rf power leads to increased electron density (up to ne=1.6×1013cm−3) while Te remains essentially constant and low (1.7–2.0eV). The downstream region exhibits profound neutral depletion (maximum 92% line-averaged ionization), where Te rises linearly with increasing rf power (up to 4.9eV) and ne remains constrained (below 6.5×1012cm−3). Flux considerations indicate accelerated plasma flow (Mach 0.24) through the antenna region due to an axial pressure gradient with reduced collisional drag from neutral depletion.

A laser initiation and radio frequency (rf) sustainment technique has been developed and improved from our previous work to create and sustain large-volume, high-pressure air and nitrogen plasmas. This technique utilizes a laser-initiated, 15 mTorr partial pressure tetrakis (dimethylamino) ethylene seed plasma with a 75 Torr background gas pressure to achieve high-pressure air/nitrogen plasma breakdown and reduce the rf power requirement needed to sustain the plasma. Upon the laser plasma initiation, the chamber pressure is raised to 760 Torr in 0.5 s through a pulsed gas valve, and the end of the chamber is subsequently opened to the ambient air. The atmospheric-pressure plasma is then maintained with the 13.56 MHz rf power. Using this technique, large-volume (1000 cm3), high electron density (on the order of 1011–12 cm−3), 760 Torr air and nitrogen plasmas have been created while rf power reflection is minimized during the entire plasma pulse utilizing a dynamic matching method. This plasma can project ...