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Pelletron is a type of electrostatic particle accelerator similar to a Van de Graaff generator. Pelletrons have been built in many sizes, from small units producing voltages up to 500 kilovolts (kV) and beam energies up to 1 megaelectronvolt (MeV) of kinetic energy, to the largest system, which has reached a DC voltage of over 25 megavolts and produced ion beams with energies over 900 MeV. The generation of electric charge is accomplished by a mechanical transportation system composed of a chain of pellets (short conductive tubes connected by links made of insulating material), that is used to build-up high voltages on the Pelletron terminal. The system is enclosed by a pressure vessel filled with insulating gas, such as SF₆ (sulfur hexafluoride), and an evacuated beamline. The voltage gradient between the terminal and ground potential is used to accelerate several kinds of particles, such as positrons, electrons and negative and positive ions.

In comparison to the Van de Graaff generator, the pellet chain can be operated at a higher velocity than a rubber belt, and both the voltage and currents that can be attained are much higher. Because the chain is charged more uniformly than the belt of a Van de Graaff, the stability of the terminal voltage and the particle energy is also higher.

Pelletron accelerators are used as analytical tools in many fields, including materials analysis, nuclear physics, semiconductor development and production, pharmaceutacal research, and as ultra-sensitive mass spectrometers for carbon dating and the measurement of other rare isotopes.

• The Pelletron — Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, Stuttgart, Germany
• Pelletron.com — National Electrostatics Corporation