Upgrades of a Small Electrostatic Dust Accelerator at the University of Stuttgart

In this paper, we describe the upgrade of a small electrostatic dust accelerator located at the University of Stuttgart. The newly developed dust source, focusing lens, differential detector and linac stage were successfully installed and tested in the beam line. The input voltage range of the dust source was extended from 0–20 kV to 0–30 kV. A newly developed dust detector with two differential charge sensitive amplifiers is employed to monitor particles with speeds from several m/s to several km/s and with surface charges above 0.028 fC. The post-stage linac provides an additional acceleration ability with a total voltage of up to 120 kV. The entire system of this dust accelerator works without protection gas and without a complex high voltage terminal. The volumes to be pumped down are small and can be quickly evacuated. The new system was used to accelerate micron- and submicron-sized metal particles or coated mineral materials. Improvements in the acceleration system allow for a wider variety of dust materials and new applications.