Development of an rf driven multicusp ion source for nuclear science experiments

Abstract

A compact 13.56 MHz radio-frequency (rf) driven multicusp ion source is under development at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for radioactive ion beam applications. In this paper we describe the ion source design and the general ion source performance using H 2, Ar, Xe gas and a 90% Ar/10% CO gas mixture for generating the discharge plasma. The following ion source characteristics have been analyzed: extractable ion current, ion species distributions, ionization efficiency for nobel gases, axial energy spread and ion beam emittance measurements. This ion source can generate ion current densities of approximately 60 mA/cm 2.