Evolution of average cluster size in supsonic cluster jet under high gas backing pressure

Abstract

Evolution of the average cluster size at the center of a cluster jet from the nozzle throat along the gas flow is investigated using simulations. The simulation is performed for the cluster jet from the expansion of Ar gas into vacuum through a long conical nozzle (with the length L of 30 mm) under a high backing pressure (similar to 5 x 10(6) Pa). Results indicate that the cluster size increases gradually until it is close to the maximum with the increase of the distance from the nozzle throat, and the part of the jet with large-size clusters is located at the distance greater than 20 mm from the nozzle throat. Based on the simulation results about the evolution of the cluster size and the atom density in a cluster jet, the optimization of a nozzle length has been discussed under a given condition. This work shows that a proper nozzle length is about 20 mm for a usual conical nozzle with an opening angle of about 8.5 degree and a throat diameter of about 0.5 mm.