Transmission properties of C60 ions through micro- and nano-capillaries

We apply the capillary beam-focusing method for the C 60 fullerene projectiles in the velocity range between 0.14 and 0.2 a.u. We study the C 60 transmission properties through two different types of capillaries: (1) borosilicate glass microcapillary with an outlet diameter of 5.5 μm, and (2) Al 2 O 3 multi-capillary foil with a pore size of about 70 nm and a high aspect ratio of about 750. We measured the transmitted particle composition by using the electrostatic deflection method combined with the microchannel plate imaging technique. For the experiments with the single microcapillary, the main transmission component is found to be primary C 60 beams that are focused in the area equal to the capillary outlet diameter. Minor components are charge-exchanged C 60 ions and charged or neutral fragments (fullerene-like C 60-2 m and small C n particles), and their fractions decrease with decreasing the projectile velocity. It is concluded that the C 60 transmission fraction is considerably high for both types of the capillaries in the present velocity range.