Modified vacuum vibrator ion source for phosphorous and boron ions

A modified version of vacuum vibrator ion source is designed, fabricated and used to obtain phosphorous and boron ions. Its main features (i) controlled amplitude of vibrations at the spark position and (ii) small quantity requirements of materials. Pure powders of boron and red phosphorous were used respectively to get boron and phosphorous ions and in each case the ion current obtained was of the order of 1µA. The results obtained from silver electrodes are compared with those obtained from other metal electrodes. Silver is found to be a suitable electrode material for production of phosphorous and boron ions.