US Patent 11791149 Axially progressive lens for transporting charged particles

An electrostatic lens for transporting charged particles in an axial direction includes a first group of first electrodes configured to receive a first DC potential from a DC voltage source, and a second group of second electrodes configured to receive a second DC potential from the DC voltage source different from the first DC potential. The first electrodes are interdigitated with the second electrodes. The first group and/or the second group has a geometric feature that progressively varies along the axial direction. The lens generates an axial potential profile that progressively changes along the axial direction, and thereby reduces geometrical aberrations. The lens may be part of a charged particle processing apparatus such as, for example, a mass spectrometer or an electron microscope.