Ion Beam Extraction by Discrete Ion Focusing

An apparatus (900) and methods are disclosed for ion beam extraction. In an implementation, the apparatus includes a plasma source (or plasma) (802) and an ion extractor (804). The plasma source is adapted to generate ions and the ion extractor is immersed in the plasma source to extract a fraction of the generated ions. The ion extractor is surrounded by a space charge (810) formed at least in part by the extracted ions. The ion extractor includes a biased electrode (806) forming an interface with an insulator (808). The interface is customized to form a strongly curved potential distribution (812) in the space-charge surrounding the ion extractor. The strongly curved potential distribution focuses the extracted ions towards an opening (814) on a surface of the biased electrode thereby resulting in an ion beam.