Grounding of Beta Sources by an Auxiliary Alpha Source

A Po/sup 210/ source was used to furnish a reliab1e ground for both electron and positron sources. This was done to prevent the electron and positron sources from charging during BETA spectral studies in magnetic lens spectrometers. An approximately 20- mu c Po/sup 210/ source was placed 1.2 in. behind a 4- mu c Na/sup 2 / 2>s positron emitter backed by 20- mu g/cm/sup 2/ Formvar in the spectrometer; this arrangement resulted in a charging rate decrease of approximately 80%. When the source was placed 0.5 in. away, no charging was detectable over a period of more than one week. The discharge is attributed mainly to the loss of electrons from the source and backing caused by ionization of alpha particles since few alpha particles are stopped near the source. (B.O.G.