Uniform beam distributions at the target of the NSRL beam transfer line

Abstract

Uniform irradiation of biological or material samples with charged particle beams is desired by experimenters because it reduces radiation dose errors. In this paper we present results of uniform beams produced in the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) by a method which was developed theoretically and was proven experimentally [1,2,3] at BNL. A similar method which requires collimation of the beam, and also lacks the flexibility of the present method to produce beam various beam sizes at the target, was patented[4] in the year 1988. The present method of producing uniform beam distributions on a plane transverse to the direction of the beam, is based on purely magnetic focusing of the beam and requires no collimation of the beam or any other type of beam interaction with materials. It can also generate uniform beam distributions of various sizes. The method is favorably compared with alternative methods [5] of producing uniform beam distributions and can be applied to the whole energy spectrum of the charged particle beams that are delivered by the BNL Booster synchrotron.