Method and device for spatial charged particle bunching

1. A charged particle buncher comprising:

a series of spaced apart electrodes arranged to generate a time varying longitudinal electric field profile changing on a timescale equivalent to the mean transit time of a beam of charged particles traversing the gaps between adjacent electrodes, the series comprising a first electrode, a last electrode and one or more intermediate electrodes; and

a voltage source attached to each electrode independently configured to generate a voltage gradient that emulates a travelling electric field signal within the gaps between adjacent electrodes in such a manner to form a first polarity of the electric field between adjacent electrodes within one or more groupings of electrodes, the first polarity configured to bunch charged particles passing through the first polarity by accelerating a first portion of the charged particles and/or by decelerating a second portion of charged particles, and a second polarity of the electric field between adjacent electrodes within one or more remaining groupings of electrodes, the second polarity configured to adjust the acceleration rate of the first portion and second portion of charged particles so that substantially all the particles within the bunch have a net zero acceleration with respect to the bunch;

wherein the potential gradient amplitude within each gap changes on a timescale equal to the mean transit time of a beam of charged particles traversing the gaps between adjacent electrodes and wherein the resultant time varying overall electric field waveform applies an axial force distribution to the charged particles as they traverse all the groups of electrodes with the different polarities to produce a near net zero acceleration of the bunched charged particles and a spatial and temporal redistribution of the charged particles in the beam at the exit plane of the device to form a fixed pattern of a plurality of bunched travelling particle beam segments and nonbunched traveling particle beam segments, wherein the bunched particles have a spatially uniform charged particle density and the nonbunched particle beam segments have substantially no charged particle density.

2. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage waveform applied to the first, intermediate and last electrodes is comprised of a series of periodic linear piecewise continuous voltage steps.

3. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage waveform applied to the first, intermediate and last electrodes is comprised of a series of variable amplitude and variable shape voltage pulses.

4. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage waveform applied to each electrode is delayed between adjacent electrodes by a time interval equal to the mean transit time of a beam of charged particles traversing the gap between adjacent electrodes.

5. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage waveform applied to each electrode is delayed by a time interval equal to a harmonic of the mean transit time of a beam of charged particles traversing the gap between adjacent electrodes.

6. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage waveform applied to each electrode is delayed by a time interval equal to a fraction of the mean transit time of a beam of charged particles traversing the gap between adjacent electrodes.

7. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the frequency of the voltage waveform is equal to a frequency at which the bunch passes by the electrodes.

8. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the frequency of the voltage waveform is a harmonic of the bunch frequency.

9. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the frequency of the voltage waveform is a mixed mode signal of the bunch frequency.

10. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , the travelling axial electric field is shaped such that charged particles propagating through the buncher and having the same mass to charge ratio are all brought substantially into time focus at the target plane downstream of the buncher.

11. A charged particle buncher comprising:

a series of spaced apart electrodes arranged to generate a time varying longitudinal electric field profile changing on a timescale equivalent to the mean transit time of a beam of charged particles traversing the gaps between adjacent electrodes, the series comprising a first electrode, a last electrode and one or more intermediate electrodes; and

a voltage source attached to each electrode independently configured to generate a voltage gradient that emulates a travelling electric field signal within the gaps between adjacent electrodes in such a manner to form a first polarity of the electric field between adjacent electrodes within one or more groupings of electrodes, the first polarity configured to bunch charged particles passing through the first polarity by accelerating a first portion of the charged particles and/or by decelerating a second portion of charged particles, and a second polarity of the electric field between adjacent electrodes within one or more remaining groupings of electrodes, the second polarity configured to adjust the acceleration rate of the first portion and second portion of charged particles so that substantially all the particles within the bunch have a net zero acceleration with respect to the bunch;

wherein the potential gradient amplitude within each gap changes on a timescale equal to the mean transit time of a beam of charged particles traversing the gaps between adjacent electrodes and wherein the resultant time varying overall electric field waveform applies an axial force distribution to the charged particles as they traverse all the groups of electrodes with the different polarities to produce a near net zero acceleration of the bunched charged particles and a spatial and temporal redistribution of the charged particles in the beam at the exit plane of the device to form a fixed pattern of a plurality of bunched travelling particle beam segments and nonbunched traveling particle beam segments, wherein the bunched particles have a spatially uniform charged particle density and the nonbunched particle beam segments have substantially no charged particle density; and at least one ion source preceding the series of electrodes and followed by a biological material.

12. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein a travelling longitudinal electric field causes segregation of bunches of different charged-to-mass ratio groups that are nonoverlapping with each other by forming a plurality of well separated uniform charged-to-mass ratio bunches of charged particles along the axis of propagation.

13. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the electrodes are segmented radially about the optic axis in order to superimpose a radially increasing applied electric field distribution between adjacent electrodes to displace the position of the charged particles transverse to the direction of propagation towards the optic axis of the charged particle buncher.

14. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage waveform is applied in reverse order to each electrode with respect to the mean charged particle transit time between adjacent electrodes.

15. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein a component of the voltage waveform is applied in reverse order to each electrode with respect to the mean charged particle transit time between adjacent electrodes.

16. The charged particle buncher according to claim 1 , wherein the first polarity is opposite the second polarity.