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US 9,905,392 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for a porous electrospray emitter
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsPaulo C. Lozano, Steven Mark Arestie
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Abstract
An ionic liquid ion source can include a microfabricated body including a base and a tip. The body can be formed of a porous material compatible with at least one of an ionic liquid or room-temperature molten salt. The body can have a pore size gradient that decreases from the base of the body to the tip of the body, such that the at least one of an ionic liquid or room-temperature molten salt is capable of being transported through capillarity from the base to the tip.
Claims19
An electrospray emitter array comprising:
- a substrate;
- and
- a plurality of porous emitters, wherein each porous emitter extends from the substrate to a tip, and wherein each porous emitter has a pore size gradient such that a pore size of each porous emitter decreases in a direction from the substrate toward the tip.
An electrospray emitter comprising:
- an emitter body with a base and a tip, wherein the emitter body is formed at least partially from a porous xerogel;
- and
- a source of ions in fluid communication with the emitter body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.