Design and commissioning of a versatile surface ion source

Abstract

A compact and versatile ion source was designed and commissioned to be used with the new low energy ion beam facilities at TRIUMF. The ion source is based on the principle of surface ionization, in which ions are generated from a neutral atom by impact with a solid surface. The design of the ion source considered several factors, including the type of ions, intensity, energy and emittance of the extracted beams from the source. Commercially available alkali materials with an ionizer are used in the source; the ionizer is integrated with the in house design of extraction and transport system. The source performance was characterized using diagnostics techniques, and its key parameters, such as beam current, emittance, and beam species, were measured. The results showed that the compact surface ion source is able to achieve high ionization efficiency and stable operation, and is suitable for use in commissioning and operation of various ion beam facilities in particle accelerator laboratories.