Liquid-metal ion emitters

This article describes and discusses the fundamental laws of ion emission from liquid-metal tips in a strong electric field. The widespread views of a liquid-metal emitter as being the smoothed tip of a Taylor cone are examined critically. The instability of a liquid metal in an electric field is discussed, and in line with this, an alternative concept is given of a sharp-tipped electrohydrodynamic emitter. The prospects for applying liquidmetal ion emitters are noted.