Effect of space charge potential on the behavior of confined gaseous238UF6 ions in paul ion trap

This paper examined the behavior of confined 238UF6 gaseous ions in Paul’s quadrupole mass spectrometer under the influence of the field induced by the RF and DC potential applied to the end cap and ring electrodes and space charge potential, based on the solutions of Mathieu’s second-order linear differential equation. The results of calculation and simulation were compared in the absence and presence of space charge potential effects. The analytical and numerical results demonstrated the displacement of stability diagram of the confined 238UF6 gaseous ions in Paul's quadrupole trap due to the space charge potential. In addition, the space charge effect on the maximum density of the confined 238UF6 ions, the velocity distribution function of the confined ions and other statistical quantities were also calculated. The quadrupole ion trap forms the most important part of a mass spectrometer, and the mass spectrometer is widely used in the uranium enrichment industry.