The construction of a gas aggregation source for the preparation of size-selected nanoscale transition metal clusters

The design and operation of a gas aggregation source is described. The source combines the attributes of high-temperature operation (enabling preparation of transition metal clusters), mass selection, ultrahigh vacuum compatibility, and transportability. This makes it ideally suited to in situ studies such as scanning tunneling microscope or synchrotron radiation experiments. Data are presented to illustrate the performance of the source; recent results obtained in synchrotron radiation studies are highlighted.