High current metal ion beam transport in the UNILAC injector at GSI

Abstract

Transport of high current beams of metal ions through the injector beam line of the heavy ion linear accelerator, UNILAC, has been demonstrated using the MEVVA high current metal ion source. Improved operation of the MEVVA source has been achieved in various ways, including shot-to-shot reproducibility of the beam pulse, beam noise, pulse shape, and absence of “missing” pulses. The source was first tested on a high current test stand beam line, and then moved over to regularly used UNILAC injector terminal. Flat and reproducible titanium ion beam pulses were efficiently transported through the system from the ion source to the Wideroe preaccelerator entrance. A beam current of 20 mA (pulse current) of titanium (all charge states, q = 1, 2, 3) was accelerated to an energy of 280 Q keV through the single-gap accelerating structure, and a current of over 5 mA of Ti 2+ was measured at the Wideroe entrance 13 m downstream.