What is wienfilter?

A Wien filter is a type of particle filter that is used to separate ion beams based on their mass-to-charge ratio. It was first developed by Wilhelm Wien in the early 20th century, and it is still widely used in modern particle physics experiments.

The filter works by applying a uniform electric field and a varying magnetic field to the ion beam. The magnetic field is adjusted to be proportional to the electric field, such that ions with a particular mass-to-charge ratio experience zero net force and are not deflected by the filter, while ions with different mass-to-charge ratios are deflected to different degrees.

Wien filters are particularly useful in experiments where many different ion species are present, as they can isolate a single ion species for further study. They are used in a wide range of applications, including mass spectrometry, atomic physics, and nuclear physics research.

Some variations of the Wien filter include the quadrupole filter, the hexapole filter, and the octupole filter. These filters use different combinations of electric and magnetic fields to achieve similar results.