2020/11/05 by Chengzhe Zhou, Sandra M. Troian
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Classical mechanics #Diamond and Carbon-based Materials Research #Electric field #Electrohydrodynamics and Fluid Dynamics #Inertial frame of reference #Inviscid flow #Ion-surface interactions and analysis #Liquid metal #Materials science #Mechanics #Physics #physics.flu-dyn
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevapplied.15.044001
published as Phys. Rev. Applied 15, 044001 (2021) · 20 pages, 9 figures
arxiv created 2020/11/05 · openalex created_date 2020/11/09 · openalex publication_date 2021/04/01 · arxiv updated 2021/04/07 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In the liquid-metal ion sources that anchor key technologies for nanoscience, above a critical electric field strength a droplet of liquid metal sprouts a conical tip that undergoes continuous sharpening and field self-enhancement, culminating in ion emission. Despite decades of research, details of this process remain mysterious. Here the authors focus on the influence of inertial effects on the self-similar process leading to divergent growth. Asymptotic analysis and numerical simulations reveal a multiplicity of tip configurations that may help to explain decades-old observations of tip pulsation, droplet emission, liquid recoil, and collapse.