Electrostatic beam splitter for polar molecules

Abstract

An electrostatic beam splitter composed of three charged poles for polar molecules in weak-field-seeking states is proposed. First, the schematic diagram is given. Then we calculate the spatial distribution of the electrical field using the finite element software. We simulate the dynamic process of the loading and splitting polar molecules using the classical Monte Carlo method. We investigate the influences of the longitudinal velocity of the incident molecular beam and the voltages on the performance of our beam splitter. In order to alter the splitting ratio of the molecular beam conveniently, we cut off the two output arms of beam splitter at a certain position. Then we study the influences of the voltages and cutting positions on the splitting ratio. At last, we discuss two methods of keeping the height of guiding center nearly unchanged.