Measurement of the beam emittance of the Frankfurt proton source

Abstract

For the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility project (IFMIF) the Institut für Angewandte Physik at the University of Frankfurt is concerned with developing a high current proton/deuteron ion source. The 1999 “Frankfurt 200 mA Proton Source” is a volume type belonging to the high-efficient ion-sources family. This type of ion source has proven its capability to produce high-current ion beams of a single mass-to-charge ratio at very low-beam emittances. The arc discharge ion source delivers a 200 mA full beam (93% protons) at 55 keV with very high-beam intensities (outlet aperture 8 mm diam). Thus, the beam requirements for the IFMIF project are fulfilled. After having done the basic plasma investigation with a 127° cylinder spectrometer, the quality of the ion beam was a point of interest. Therefore, the beam emittance was measured with a conventional slit-grid measurement device. The goal was to measure the beam emittance at high-beam currents. The article will give a detailed description of the measurement of a 56 mA beam at 26 keV with 85% protons. Theoretical considerations of the emittance value, given by ion temperature and aberrations of the extraction system, allows an estimation of the emittance of a 170 mA at 55 keV proton beam. In a second step, an estimation of a postaccelerated 140 mA at 100 keV deuteron beam was completed.