Simulation on the effect of Brownian motion on nanoparticle trajectories in a pulsed microplasma cluster source

Abstract

We describe a simulation of the nanoparticle trajectories in a pulsed cluster beam source. Clusters, formed by condensation of atomic vapor in a helium bath, and considered here as rigid spheres having a diameter of 1.5 nm, were tracked during their travel inside the source cavity, an aerodynamic lens, and a cylindrical nozzle. Steady state supersonic laminar flow of helium is considered in an axi-symmetric geometry aiming to simulate, within some limitations, the conditions under which cluster formation takes place in a pulsed microplasma cluster source. In spite of the unsteady nature of the pulsed source, the time scale characterizing particle motion in the flow field is significantly smaller than the characteristic time constant for the evolution of gas pressure in the source. For this reason, a steady simulation can shed some light on the understanding of processes governing nanoparticle motion in a pulsed vaporization source. The extent to which the Brownian diffusion can affect the particle extraction from the source is investigated. Simulations have shown that the Brownian motion perturbs the clusters from the trajectories dictated by the carrier gas and increases the rate of cluster deposition on the source internal walls. However, it does not hinder the aerodynamic focalization produced by the lens even in nano-size cluster regime. This result is qualitatively confirmed by experiment.