A free jet (supersonic), molecular beam source with automatized, 50 nm precision nozzle-skimmer positioning

Low energy (thermal) free jet (supersonic) molecular beams are used in a range of applications from surface science and surface deposition to quantum coherence and gas kinetics experiments. A free jet molecular beam is created by a gas expansion from a high pressure reservoir through a small aperture (nozzle). The nozzle typically has a diameter of 2-20 μm. The central part of the beam is selected using a skimmer, typically up to 500 μm in diameter. Recent years have seen the introduction of highly spatially confined beam sources based on micrometer skimmers and micrometer or even sub-micrometer nozzles. Such sources have been applied, for example, in the investigation of superfluidity and in neutral helium microscopy. However, up till now no source design allowing the precise positioning of the micro-skimmer relative to the nozzle has been available. This is an important issue because the relative position of skimmer and nozzle can influence the beam properties considerably. Here we present the design and implementation of a new molecular beam source, which allows an automatized, 50 nm precision positioning of the skimmer relative to the nozzle. The source is liquid nitrogen cooled and the temperature can be controlled between 110 K and 350 K with a temperature fluctuation of less than ±0.1 K over several hours. Beam intensity measurements using a 5 μm nozzle and a skimmer 5 μm in diameter are presented for stagnation pressures po in the range 3-180 bars. A 2D beam profile scan, using a 9.5 μm skimmer and a 5 μm nozzle is presented as a further documentation of the versatility of the new design and as an illustration of the influence of the relative skimmer-nozzle position on the beam properties.