An investigation of an ion drag pump using a needle-mesh electrode configuration
This paper deals with an ion drag pump consisting of a needle-mesh electrode system. The effects of the number of needles of the emitter, the configuration of the collector and the type of oil on the pump performance are investigated experimentally, and some of the experimental results are compared with one-dimensional theoretical analysis. It is shown that the pump performance is not significantly influenced by the number of needles on the emitter but is significantly enhanced by attaching needles to the collector mesh in a similar manner to the emitter, and that the type of oil has a significant influence on the pressure-flowrate characteristic. Furthermore, it is revealed that no correlation can be seen between the stalled characteristic and the flow characteristic.