Correction: Dielectric Materials with Deposited Electrode Layers for Electrospray Arrays

Abstract

A two-dimensional electrostatic analysis is used to model the effects of geometric and material variations of the extractor of a single electrospray emitter. In particular, a geometry is modeled where the emitting capillary is embedded in a countersunk hole in a layer of Teflon and the extractor is comprised of a 20 nanometer thin-film of directly deposited gold on the dielectric. COMSOL software is used to solve Maxwell's equations to determine the effect of the dielectric walls and emitter geometry on the electric field in the vicinity of the emitter. It is found that the dielectric only marginally changes the magnitude of the field but not the shape, which suggests that conventional scaling laws for onset voltage, applied potential, and flow rate still apply. These scaling laws then are used to design and construct a prototype of this configuration, baselining the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMI-BF4) as a propellant. The design process, results of numerical model verification, as well as the initial prototype fabrication are presented.