In this work, a simple and inexpensive design is proposed for generating a highly charged particle beam at atmospheric pressure. The design consists of two parallel plates followed by vertically-mounted drift rings, both of which are connected to a high voltage source to create a high electric field between the two plates as well as between the drift rings. Powder is loaded on the lower plate where the particles are charged due to the high voltage contact and escape from an aperture on the upper plate. The device is capable of producing micro or nanoparticle charged beams for both the insulating and conducting materials. The charge of the particles is in the order of 10 6 e for a 100 mm particle. The charge distribution of particles was found to be a function of their size and the applied electric field between the two plates. Using the charged particle source, a new particle sizer which integrates the dispersion and detection parts is presented. Particles are dispersed based on bouncing between the two plates and escape into the measuring area where the size is determined by light scattering. The instrument is calibrated using standard powders. The data obtained from the new instrument are in good agreement with those obtained from a commercial particle size analyzer. The sizer works both for insulator and conductive powders. In addition a macro ion mobility spectrometer was constructed. In this design the charged particle source was coupled to a drift tube. A PMT and two laser beams were used to measure the velocity of the particle. Having, the electrical mobility and the charge of the particle, its size is determined using Stockes-Einestain Equation.
