Electron-beam ion source/trap charge breeders at rare-isotope beam facilities

Abstract

At accelerator facilities, charge breeders convert ion beams of low charge states (mostly singly charged) into multiply charged ion beams to extend the energy range of beams accelerated and delivered to experiments. A field of application that has grown over the past decades is charge breeding of rare-isotope beams (RIBs). RIBs are of interest in nuclear physics and astrophysics to study nuclear structure and the origin of the chemical elements. Several postaccelerators at RIB facilities in operation and under construction employ electron-beam ion source and trap (EBIS/T) breeders. Compared with other breeding techniques, EBIS/Ts have many advantages: high efficiency, fast and variable breeding times, small beam emittances, and high beam purity. This publication reviews the use of EBIS/T breeders at RIB facilities with a particular emphasis on their use for postacceleration along with advances in related fields.