The IGISOL technique—three decades of developments

Abstract

The Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) technique, conceived in the early 1980s as a novel variation to the helium-jet method, has been used to provide radioactive ion beams of short-lived exotic nuclei for fundamental nuclear structure research and applications for three decades. This direct on-line mass separation of primary recoil ions from nuclear reactions has achieved similar extraction efficiencies for both volatile and non-volatile elements throughout the periodic table. The evolution of the ion guide has been driven by the pursuit of physics research on both sides of the valley of beta stability. The gradual improvement in the primary beam intensities of light ions, as well as the ever increasing availability of a range of heavy ions has been matched with the development of novel ion manipulation techniques in order to maximise the output of the IGISOL facility. In this article we describe the continual development of the facility to match the needs of the scientific programme, a relationship which has proceeded hand-in-hand over the years. We will show that this strategy has been and continues to be very important for the huge success of the ion guide method for radioactive ion beam production.