Study of slowing down and thermalization of externally injected ion beams in electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasmas

Abstract

Electron cyclotron resonance ion source based charge breeder is a promising way to produce rare isotope beams with a high charge state, based on capture and thermalisation of the primary ion beam by the ECR plasma. A simulation technique based on a Monte Carlo collision operator is developed to study the capture of externally injected ion beams in ion source plasmas. To illustrate the utility of the method, we have studied the dynamics of Ar1+ ions in oxygen plasma. Evolution of statistically averaged quantities such as the beam size, average directional velocity, and rms velocity is studied for various beam parameters. It is observed that the number of undamped particles and the steady state beam size increase with the increase in beam emittance. The simulation result indicates that the capture and thermalisation of the ion beam are affected by the kinetic energy and emittance of the beam.Electron cyclotron resonance ion source based charge breeder is a promising way to produce rare isotope beams with a high charge state, based on capture and thermalisation of the primary ion beam by the ECR plasma. A simulation technique based on a Monte Carlo collision operator is developed to study the capture of externally injected ion beams in ion source plasmas. To illustrate the utility of the method, we have studied the dynamics of Ar1+ ions in oxygen plasma. Evolution of statistically averaged quantities such as the beam size, average directional velocity, and rms velocity is studied for various beam parameters. It is observed that the number of undamped particles and the steady state beam size increase with the increase in beam emittance. The simulation result indicates that the capture and thermalisation of the ion beam are affected by the kinetic energy and emittance of the beam.