HIGH-SPEED PARTICLE DETECTOR FOR DISCRIMINATING IONIC VALENCE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable discrimination of ionic valences by a superconducting stripline detector (SSLD) that generates high-speed pulses in the order of nanoseconds for collisions of particles. SOLUTION: By changing a bias current flowing into the SSLD, the lower limit of the kinetic energy of particles detectable with the SSLD can be changed, and a set of a plurality of mass spectra, which comprises all the ions that are univalent or higher, and all the ions that are bivalent or higher, is obtained. Then, for example, data of just the univalent ions can be obtained, by subtracting data of all the ions that are bivalent or higher from data comprised of all the ions that are univalent or higher. In a similar manner, data of just the bivalent ions, data of just the tervalent ions (and similarly, in succession for multivalent ions) can also be obtained. That is, the valences can be discriminated. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT