Ionizing Air Guns: What Do They Use?

[Russell_B]

Hello,
I have been reading up on ionizing air guns, such as those used in silicon valley cleanrooms, and as i understand it they are used to remove static charge from circuits and such. This would imply that the gun is creating positive ions, and thus it is somehow dislodging electrons.

What do ionising air guns use to achieve this? UV? X-Rays?

Russ

 

[Kracatoan]

I believe they work by using electricity to ionise the air passing through the 'gun', in a way similar to mass spectroscopy. This results in a jet of positively charged air which neutralises any negative charges on the target.