Measurements of the energy distribution of a high brightness rubidium ion beam.

The energy distribution of a high brightness rubidium ion beam, which is intended to be used as the source for a focused ion beam instrument, is measured with a retarding field analyzer. The ions are created from a laser-cooled and compressed atomic beam by two-step photoionization in which the ionization laser power is enhanced in a build-up cavity. Particle tracing simulations are performed to ensure the analyzer is able to resolve the distribution. The lowest achieved full width 50% energy spread is (0.205 ±â€¯0.006) eV, which is measured at a beam current of 9 pA. The energy spread originates from the variation in the ionization position of the ions which are created inside an extraction electric field. This extraction field is essential to limit disorder-induced heating which can decrease the ion beam brightness. The ionization position distribution is limited by a tightly focused excitation laser beam. Energy distributions are measured for various ionization and excitation laser intensities and compared with calculations based on numerical solutions of the optical Bloch equations including ionization. A good agreement is found between measurements and calculations.

Tuning organic magnetoresistance in polymer-fullerene blends by controlling spin reaction pathways.

Harnessing the spin degree of freedom in semiconductors is generally a challenging, yet rewarding task. In recent years, the large effect of a small magnetic field on the current in organic semiconductors has puzzled the young field of organic spintronics. Although the microscopic interaction mechanisms between spin-carrying particles in organic materials are well understood nowadays, there is no consensus as to which pairs of spin-carrying particles are actually influencing the current in such a drastic manner. Here we demonstrate that the spin-based particle reactions can be tuned in a blend of organic materials, and microscopic mechanisms are identified using magnetoresistance lineshapes and voltage dependencies as fingerprints. We find that different mechanisms can dominate, depending on the exact materials choice, morphology and operating conditions. Our improved understanding will contribute to the future control of magnetic field effects in organic semiconductors.