Penning ion source

Penning ion source

[′pen·iŋ ′ī‚än ‚sȯrs] (nucleonics) A source of positively charged heavy ions used in accelerators, consisting of an anode chamber with cathodes at each end, into which the desired element is introduced; an arc discharge is generated in the chamber, creating a plasma, and electrons confined by the cathodes and an axial magnetic field make many ionizing collisions with the gas in the chamber.