Electrostatic lens

An electrostatic field with axial or plane symmetry which acts upon beams of charged particles of uniform velocity as glass lenses act on light beams. The action of electrostatic fields with axial symmetry is analogous to that of spherical glass lenses, whereas the action of electrostatic fields with plane symmetry is analogous to that of cylindrical glass lenses. Plane symmetry as used here signifies that the electrostatic potential is constant along any normal to a family of parallel planes.

The action of an electrostatic lens on the paths of charged particles passing through it is most readily visualized with the aid of an equipotential plot of the fields in a plane of symmetry of the lens. The equipotential lines in the plot indicate the intersection with the plane of the drawing of surfaces on which the electrostatic potential is a constant. The paths of charged particles in the electrostatic field are bent toward the normals of the equipotentials as the particles are accelerated, and away from the normals as the particles are decelerated.

Axially symmetric lenses are generally formed at or between circular apertures and cylinders maintained at suitable potentials. For any of these it is possible to define focal points, principal planes, and focal lengths in the same manner as for light lenses and to determine with their aid image magnification for any object position.

Lenses of plane symmetry, analogous to cylindrical glass lenses, are formed between parallel planes and at slits, replacing the circular cylinders and apertures of lenses with axial symmetry.

electrostatic lens