Size distribution of helium droplets in the condensation regime of a pulsed beam

Abstract

We determined the size distribution of helium droplets produced in a pulsed beam in the condensation regime from the gas phase. Following electron-impact ionization, the mass-to-charge ratios of the positively charged droplets were determined by measuring their kinetic energies and velocities using an electrostatic cylindrical deflector setup. Over a range of different source conditions, we observed bimodal velocity distributions and log-normal size distributions. Our results are similar to those reported for continuous beams, but with mean sizes larger by a factor of around 100. The log-normal size distributions reported here differ strongly from the exponential distributions recently reported for a pulsed beam produced using a different nozzle design.