Ion behavior and interelectrode breakdown voltage of a drift tube

Abstract

We experimentally studied ion behavior and interelectrode breakdown voltage. The ion behavior of a drift tube directly influences the detection of ion intensity, and then influences the detection sensitivity of a system. Interelectrode voltage and pressure directly influence the ion behavior. Gas discharge between electrodes influences the adjustments required for interelectrode voltage. The experimental results show: ion intensity increases exponentially with the increment of voltage between drift electrodes; ion intensity decreases exponentially as pressure increases; with the increment of pressure, the breakdown voltage at first decreases, and then increases; ion injection has a significant influence on breakdown voltage, and this influence depends on the pressure and shapes of the electrodes. We explain the results above through assumptions and by mathematical methods.