Beam structure studies of low-energy ion beams

Abstract

The ion beam structure at various axial positions along the beam-transport line has been monitored and studied utilizing a fluor screen and a video camera. The fluor material is aluminum oxide that is plasma-jet sprayed onto the surface of an aluminum or a water-cooled copper substrate. The visual representation of the beam structure is digitized and enhanced through use of false-color coding and displayed on a TV monitor for the on-line viewing by the experimentalist. Digitized video signals are stored for further off-line processing and extracting more information about the beam, such as beam profiles. This inexpensive and effective diagnostic enables the experimentalist to observe the real-time beam response (such as evolution of the beam structure, shifts in the beam intensity at various spatial locations within the beam perimeter, and shifts in the beam center and position) to parameter changes.