Effect of temperature on the emission characteristics of liquid metal alloy ion sources

In spite of the fact that a great deal of research has been carried out on liquid metal ion sources, suprisingly few results exist on the temperature dependence of their emission characteristics. In this article we study two liquid metal alloy ion sources (LMAISs), namely Co₃₆Nd₆₄ and Au₇₇Ge₁₄Si₉. While the results of the former source were as expected, the latter displayed an entirely different dependence of its emission characteristics on temperature. The unusual results of the Au₇₇Ge₁₄Si₉ LMAIS are explained in terms of the abnormal behavior of the surface tension of the alloy with temperature.