ELECTRON BEAM ION SOURCE PREINJECTOR PROJECT (EBIS) CONCEPTUAL DESIGN REPORT.

Abstract

This report describes a new heavy ion pre-injector for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) based on a high charge state Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS), a Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator, and a short Linear accelerator (Linac). The highly successful development of an EBIS at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) now makes it possible to replace the present pre-injector that is based on an electrostatic Tandem with a reliable, low maintenance Linac-based pre-injector. Linac-based preinjectors are presently used at most accelerator and collider facilities with the exception of RHIC, where the required gold beam intensities could only be met with a Tandem until the recent EBIS development. EBIS produces high charge state ions directly, eliminating the need for the two stripping foils presently used with the Tandem. Unstable stripping efficiencies of these foils are a significant source of luminosity degradation in RHIC. The high reliability and flexibility of the new Linac-based pre-injector will lead to increased integrated luminosity at RHIC and is an essential component for the long-term success of the RHIC facility. This new pre-injector, based on an EBIS, also has the potential for significant future intensity increases and can produce heavy ion beams of all species including uranium beams and, as part of a future upgrade, might also be used to produce polarized {sup 3}He beams. These capabilities will be critical to the future luminosity upgrades and electron-ion collisions in RHIC. The proposed pre-injector system would also provide for a major enhancement in capability for the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), which utilizes heavy-ion beams from the RHIC complex. EBIS would allow for the acceleration of all important ion species for the NASA radiobiology program, such as, helium, argon, and neon which are unavailable with the present Tandem injector. In addition, the new system would allow for very rapid switching of ion species for NSRL experiments, reducing delays due to the interference with RHIC injection operations, and allowing enhanced mixed field radiation studies. The new RFQ and Linac that are used to accelerate beams from the EBIS to an energy sufficient for injection into the Booster are both very similar to existing devices already in operation at other facilities. Injection into the Booster will occur at the same location as the existing injection from the Tandem.