Guiding of slow Ne7+ ions through nanocapillaries in a PET polymer:: dependence on the capillary diameter

The transmission of 3 keV ions through capillaries of 100 and 200 mn diameters and 10 mu m length produced by etching ion tracks in a PET polymer foil were measured. The foils were tilted relative to the incident beam direction by angles up to 25 degrees for which the incident ions are forced to approach the capillary surface. Surprisingly, the majority of Ne 71 ions were found to be transmitted in their initial charge state. Also, the angular distributions of the transmitted particles exhibit a predominant emission of the Ne7+ ions along the capillary axis. This capillary guiding of the Ne7+ ion shows that the ions produce a charge-up within the capillaries in a self-organizing process. The experimental results indicate a significant dependence of the ion transmission on the diameter of the capillaries. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.