Target and Ion Source Development for Better Beams in the ARIEL Era

Abstract

Any ISOL facility pushing the boundaries of nuclear physics must be able to provide cutting-edge ion beams to its users - beams of isotopes far from stability, with few contaminants, that may be difficult to extract from an ISOL target. The development of these pure, exotic beams must be supported by continuing research and development on targets and ion sources. In the ARIEL era, new target/ion source geometries and operational modes will provide new opportunities which can only be exploited with time for development. To prioritize this, TRIUMF proposes to build a dedicated test stand for target and ion source research which will model the critical features of the new ARIEL target stations. This stand will provide a testing ground for methods of increasing efficiency and selectivity, such as investigations of new surface ion source [1, 2] and Forced Electron Beam Induced Arc Discharge (FEBIAD) ion source [3, 2] designs. In addition, this will provide a development environment for new beams, either from new target materials, or through techniques such as extracting molecular beams. In order to maximize the gain from these investigations in on-line operation, the ion optical properties of the final beam will be investigated concurrently.