Coupled Operation Experience at the Holifield Heavy Ion Research Facility

Abstract

The 25URC Pelletron tandem electrostatic accelerator and the Oak Ridge Isochronous Cyclotron (ORIC) comprise the accelerators of the Holifield Heavy-Ion Research Facility (HHIRF). The two machines may be operated individually or coupled, with ORIC serving as an energy booster for the tandem. In the coupled dode, the ion beam enters the cyclotron through the dee stem and is directed by the inflection magnet so that it is tangent to an orbit suitable for acceleration at a higher charge state. A thin carbon foil, placed at the point of tangency, strips the ions so that a substantial fraction are in the desired higher charge state. This fraction of the beam is then accelerated and extracted in the normal fashion. Full energy performance (25 MeV/A oxygen) was demonstrated during first coupled operation in January 1981. Routine coupled operation for experiments commenced in July 1982.