Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source Research Articles

Volume and surface effects in Cs-free regimes in NIO1

NIO1 (Negative Ion Optimization phase 1) is a compact multiaperture radiofrequency H- ion source whose design was optimized for sustainable prolonged beam on target operation; for installation economy, its size was drastically reduced with respect to fusion device D- sources, down to a plasma volume of 1.6 × 10-3 m-3. Even if Cesium improves H- production as well known, also Cs-free regimes (and intermediate regimes) well deserve some development effort, in view of avoiding long term contamination of the accelerator and for use as cleaning procedure. Data collected by NIO1 in a true Cs-free regime (before 2020) are thus very important, and need a thorough statistical analysis, with special attention to the technique of gas conditioning that was discovered in NIO1 and to the issues concerned with long term operation; N2, Ar, and Xe comparison to oxygen is here shown; all these gases proved useful for conditioning, to different extents. Gas conditioning macroscopically proves the importance of surface effects, even when the final production of H- happens in the source volume. As regards to the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources (ECRIS), exchange of ideas and concepts, such aselectron economyand biased disks, liners and wall coatings, is considered. Gas mixing, conditioning and surface material perspectives are envisioned.

Development of Allison scanner to measure transverse emittance at low energy beam transport of rare-isotope accelerator complex for ON-line experiments

The Rare-isotope Accelerator complex for ON-line experiments is a heavy-ion accelerator facility that accelerates a stable or rare isotope beam up to 400 kW with an energy of 200 MeV/u. Various heavy-ion beams are generated from the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source, with an energy of 10 keV/u and separated according to A/Q at the first dipole magnet (DM). To measure beam transverse emittance at the Low Energy Beam Transport section, two Allison scanners are installed behind the DM for the X and Y directions. It consist of a servo motor for driving, a Faraday cup for current measurement, deflection plates, and electronic device. The measurable range of beam angle in of the Allison scanner is determined by the structure of the deflection plate and designed based on mathematical calculations. Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is adopted to integrate and control a variety of devices. To control the complex measurement sequence of the Allison scanner, an EPICS sequencer module was used. Normalized emittance is calculated by python code with Pyepics module using phase space distribution data. In this paper, we present the detailed design of the Allison scanner, the configuration of the control system, and the experimental results using an Ar9+ 30 μA beam.

Design of ASTERICS: A Superconducting 28 GHz ECR Ion Source Magnet for GANIL

In the framework of the NEWGAIN project, which aims to build a second injector with a mass to charge-state ratio A/q=7 for the SPIRAL2 linear accelerator at GANIL, CEA is developing in collaboration with LPSC and GANIL a new superconducting 28 GHz ECR Ion Source Magnet named ASTERICS. The magnetic design is based on an advanced concept of the VENUS ECR ion source operating at Berkeley and the FRIB source under commisionning at MSU. The ion source superconducting magnet consists of a sextupole inside three solenoids to confine the plasma and a shell-based support structure to apply a preload to the sextupole coils. The confinement coils will be made in Nb-Ti and will be operated at 4.2 K. The cryogenic environment will be ensured by liquid helium thermosiphon closed loop thanks to six in-situ cryocoolers. Specific HTS current leads are being designed to power the magnet. A cold integrated He buffer will also allow He almost-lossless quenches. The preliminary design choices of the ASTERICS superconducting magnet are presented here from the magnetic, mechanical and protection design to the cryogenic definition emphasizing the global approach used to obtain the final magnet configuration.

Design of a Miniaturized Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source for High-Voltage Proton Accelerator

The Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion source fulfills high-current, high-efficiency, and compactness requirements for high-voltage proton accelerators. It is a cathode-free source that uses microwaves to heat a magnetically confined plasma, so there is no cathode loss resulting in a short service life. We finished the design for a miniaturization ECR ion source system, including a microwave system and source body. The traditional microwave system’s scale, which is approximately 1 m, has been reduced to 0.234 m, and the transmission efficiency is greater than 90%. The influence of cavity size and magnetic field distribution on gas ionization is analyzed under the condition that the outer size of the permanent magnet ring is limited, and the optimal scheme of cavity size and saddle-shaped magnetic field distribution is obtained. This design meets the requirement of fitting the ion source system into the restricted space in the high-voltage accelerator’s head.

Experimental characterization of gaseous ion beams produced with the advanced ion source for hadrontherapy (AISHa) at 18 GHz

Experimental characterization of gaseous ion beams produced with the advanced ion source for hadrontherapy (AISHa) at 18 GHz

The effects of electron energy distribution and ionization cross section uncertainty on charge breeder ion source diagnostics with pulsed 1+ injection

The consecutive transients (CT) method is a plasma diagnostic technique of charge breeder electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasmas. It is based on the short-pulse injection of singly charged ions and the measurement of the resulting transients of the extracted multi-charged ion beams. Here, we study the origin of the large uncertainty bounds yielded by the method to reveal avenues to improve its accuracy. We investigate effects of the assumed electron energy distribution (EED) and the uncertainty inherited from the ionization cross section data of K4+–K12+ ions on the resulting plasma electron density ne, average energy ⟨Ee⟩, and the characteristic times of ion confinement τq, electron impact ionization τinzq, and charge exchange τcxq provided by the CT method. The role of the EED was probed with Kappa and double-Maxwellian distributions, the latter resulting in a shift of the ne and ⟨Ee⟩ distributions. The uncertainty of the ionization cross section σq→q+1inz was artificially curtailed to investigate its impact on values and uncertainties of the plasma parameters. It is demonstrated that the hypothetical perfect knowledge of σq→q+1inz significantly reduces the uncertainties of τq, τinzq, and τcxq, which motivates the need for improved cross section data.

Tailoring of microwave power density in an ECR ion source using an optimized ridge coupler

One of the interesting areas in the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECR-IS) design which requires further exploration is the microwave power launching scheme and the power coupling optimization with the plasma chamber. The electron heating efficiency and thereby the plasma density highly depends on the electric field distribution inside the plasma chamber; therefore, it is important to optimize the coupling of microwave power to the plasma chamber, to maximize the electric fields in the plasma chamber for a given microwave power. For this, a single-step quarter wavelength ridge coupler design study has been carried out using CST MW Studio Suite along with the plasma chamber and ridge wave guide designs. The experimental measurements of electric and magnetic field profiles in the plasma chamber assembly with different coupling configurations have been done using an innovative bead pull technique and a magnetic field probe. The experimental results match well with the simulation results and the comparative studies of different coupling configurations reveal that the single step ridge coupler based scheme improves the electric field inside the plasma chamber to at least five times than the conventional ridge waveguide. To further improve the E-field amplitude in the plasma chamber by another 40%, a novel tuning scheme for the coupler has been introduced. Preliminary plasma studies have been carried out with the optimized coupler on a multicusp ECR plasma source and the plasma density measurements performed using a microwave cut-off probe. The plasma measurements show that even at low input microwave powers (∼300 W) the plasma density is comparable with standard ECR-IS. The present study thus, sheds light on the coupling configuration of microwave to plasma chamber with experimental measurements of cavity mode and fields in the cavity which will be useful for high intensity accelerator applications in understanding the plasma evolution, beam parameters and its dependence on different operating parameters.

Improvement of multi-harmonic buncher’s quality factor for RAON

The high-intensity rare-isotope accelerator RAON, a component of the Rare Isotope Science Project, was developed to accelerate heavy ions from elements ranging from proton to uranium. The injector line consists of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source, a Low Energy Beam Transport line, a Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ), and a Medium Energy Beam Transport line. To improve beam quality, a multi-harmonic buncher (MHB) was proposed for inclusion before the RFQ. The MHB is needed to efficiently utilize two beams with different mass-to-charge (A/q) ratios. The fundamental frequency of the MHB is half the frequency of the RFQ; as such, a harmonic synthesis is effectively bunching a beam. Electric field simulations of the MHB were conducted using the CST Microwave Studio (MWS). The electrodes were designed as cone- type electrodes so that the electric field can be concentrated between the electrodes through which the beam passes. The electric field was optimized to account for structural changes such as gap length between electrodes, resonator position and other design details. The model optimized in the simulation tool was engineered through the 3D Inventor program.

Sputter sample preparation for ion beam delivery of radium-223 at ATLAS.

A radium-223 ion beam was delivered to an experiment from the electron cyclotron resonance ion source, ECR2, at the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS). The radium-223 material was in a nitrate salt form within a vial, prior to being converted to a usable sputter sample. The sputter sample was produced using a new sample preparation method, where the radium nitrate was dissolved into a solution and pipetted onto pressed aluminum powder. This sample was then allowed to dry, distributing the radium-223 material throughout the sputter sample. Ion source operation using the radium sputter sample is described with the operating parameters listed. The intensity and energy requirements for this ion beam were 1 × 106 particles/s and 1.07 GeV, respectively. Because the intensity is relatively low compared to most experiments at ATLAS, previously developed accelerator mass spectrometry methods were used Scott etal. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 87, 02A732 (2016)] to avoid the need for tuning of the low-intensity beam of interest. Handling of the radium material, as well as loading and unloading of the sputter sample from ECR2, required collaboration with Health Physics. Procedures were used and dry runs were carried out before, during, and after the experiment to ensure the safety of the workers. The processes used and lessons learned are described within.

The longitudinal energy spread of ion beams extracted from an electron cyclotron resonance ion source

We present a study of factors affecting the energy spread of ion beams extracted from a Charge Breeder Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (CB-ECRIS). The comprehensive simulations, supported by experiments with a Retarding Field Analyser (RFA), reveal that the longitudinal and transverse energy spread of the extracted beams are strongly affected by the electrostatic focusing effects, namely the extraction geometry and plasma beam boundary, to the extent that the electrostatic effects dominate over the magnetic field induced rotation of the beam or the effect of plasma potential and ion temperature. The dominance of the electrostatic focusing effect over the magnetic field induced rotation complicates parametric studies of the transverse emittance as a function of the magnetic field strength, and comparison of emittance values obtained with different ion sources having different extraction designs. Our results demonstrate that the full ion beam energy spread, relevant for the downstream accelerator, can be measured with the RFA only when all ions are collected. On the contrary, studying the effect of plasma properties (plasma potential and ion temperature) on the longitudinal energy spread requires heavy collimation of the beam accepting only ions near the symmetry axis of the beam for which the electrostatic and magnetic effects are suppressed. As the extraction system of the CB-ECRIS is similar to a conventional ECRIS, the conclusions of the study can be generalised to apply for all high charge state ECR ion sources. Finally, we present the results of systematic plasma potential measurements of the Phoenix-type CB-ECRIS at LPSC, varying the source potential, the microwave power and the axial magnetic field srength. It was observed that the plasma potential increases with the extraction magnetic field and the microwave power.

Absolute measurement of the relativistic magnetic dipole transition in He-like sulfur

We have made an absolute, reference-free measurement of the $1s2s\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}^{3}S_{1}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1{s}^{2}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}^{1}S_{0}$ relativistic magnetic dipole transition in He-like sulfur. The highly charged sulfur ions were provided by an electron-cyclotron resonance ion source, and the x rays were analyzed with a high-precision double-crystal spectrometer. A transition energy of 2430.3685(97) eV was obtained and is compared to most advanced bound-state quantum electrodynamics calculations, providing an important test of two-electron QED effects and precision atomic structure methods in medium-$Z$ species. Thanks to the extremely narrow natural linewidth of this transition and to the large dispersion of the spectrometer at this energy, a complementary study is also performed to evaluate the impact of different silicon crystal atomic form-factor models in the transition-energy analysis. We find no significant dependence on the model used to determine the transition energy.

Ion source and low energy beam transport prototyping for a single-ended heavy ion ToF-ERDA facility

We present the status of the ion source and low energy beam transport prototyping activities for a heavy ion time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (ToF-ERDA) equipment, designed to accelerate a flux of 1–10 particle nano-Ampere of 40Ar6-12+ ions to 3–6MeV energy for depth profiling of light elements. The prototype injector consists of a novel permanent magnet electron cyclotron resonance ion source CUBE-ECRIS with a minimum-B quadrupole field topology, and a 90° permanent magnet dipole with adjustable field strength for charge state selection. We report experimentally measured argon beam currents as a function of the applied microwave power and ion source potential to demonstrate the feasibility of the CUBE-ECRIS as an injector for a single-ended ToF-ERDA facility with the ion source and low energy beam transport on a 500kV platform without SF6 electrical insulation. Finally, we present the design and field measurement results of the dipole magnet prototype.

Design and Development of the 200-kW Beam Dump

The Chinese Accelerator Front end (CAFe) is a demo superconducting proton linac for an accelerator-driven subcritical system (ADS). It includes an electron-cyclotron resonance ion source, a low-energy transport line, a radio-frequency quadrupole, a medium-energy transport line, a superconducting section, a high-energy transport line, and a beam dump. The design energy and current are 20 MeV and 10 mA, with a beam power of 200 kW. The goal of the CAFe is to demonstrate the 10-mA ability of a full superconducting linac, especially in the low-energy region. In previous beam commissioning, the maximum beam power achieved was 34 kW, which was limited by the capacity of the beam dump. Thus, for the high-power beam commissioning of CAFe, a new 200-kW beam dump has been designed and developed. Based on the thermal analysis, a maximum power density of 200 W/cm2 is adopted for the dump. To avoid a high-level residual dose, the material of the dump is aluminum alloy (Al6063). The dump is a conical structure, with water flow in the interlayer. During beam commissioning, the dump withstood 200-kW proton beam power and collected a total charge of 2049 mAh.

Commissioning Results of the New Compact ECR Ion Source for Electrostatic Storage Ring at KACST

A compact microwave ECR ion source with low operating power was tested and commissioned for the ion injector line in the multipurpose low-energy ELASR storage ring facility at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Riyadh. The compact ECR ion source can deliver singly charged ions with an energy of up to 50 keV and a beam current of up to 50 μA or up to 500 µA with a larger extraction aperture. The plasma in the ECR chamber is driven by a simple transmitter antenna, making the overall size of the ion source only 6 cm in diameter, which is relatively small when compared with other ECR systems. Additionally, the source operates without a high-voltage platform, which significantly reduces the overall footprint and simplifies the system operation. In this paper, the mechanical design and modeling of the ECR ion source are introduced, and the layout of the first part of the beam line is presented along with the numerical simulation results. In addition, the experimental results obtained for the first generated ion beam and commissioning of the ECR ion source are introduced and discussed.

Kinetic whistler instability in a mirror-confined plasma of a continuous ECR ion source

Kinetic instabilities in a dense plasma of a continuous electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge in a mirror magnetic trap at the Gasdynamic Ion Source for Multipurpose Operation (GISMO) setup are studied. We experimentally define unstable regimes and corresponding plasma parameters, where the excitation of electromagnetic emission is observed, accompanied by the precipitation of energetic electrons from the magnetic trap. A comprehensive experimental study of the precipitating electron energy distribution and plasma electromagnetic emission spectra, together with theoretical estimates of the cyclotron instability increment proves that under the experimental conditions, the observed instability is related to the excitation of whistler-mode waves, which are a driver of losses of energetic electrons from the magnetic trap. The results of this study are important for the further development of the GISMO electron cyclotron resonance ion source facility and for the improvement of its parameters as an ion source. Also, this research on plasma kinetic instabilities is of fundamental interest and provides experimental tools to simultaneously study plasma electromagnetic activity and corresponding changes in a resonant electron energy distribution.

Iodine electron cyclotron resonance plasma source for electric propulsion

With the rapid development of commercial space in recent years, the low-power and low-cost propulsion systems are needed more and more urgently. Compared with conventional chemical propulsion, electric propulsion has a higher specific impulse. Compared with the conventional xenon propellant, iodine propellant that does not require high pressure storage, is cheap and close to the relative atomic mass and ionization energy of xenon. Electron cyclotron resonance source has the advantages of no internal electrode, low pressure ionization, high plasma density and compact structure, which is suitable for low power electric propulsion. Therefore, the study of low power iodine propellant electron cyclotron resonance plasma source is of great significance. In this study, a set of corrosion-resistant feed system with balanced and stable output of iodine vapor is designed. Then the iodine-corrosion-resistant electron cyclotron resonance thruster is designed completely. A corrosion-resistant coaxial cavity structure is used to feed the microwave to the thruster, and the channel magnetic field is changed into a cusped field to generate more electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) layers. Finally, the combined ignition experiment is successfully conducted, showing the first plasma source using electron cyclotron resonance to ionize iodine propellant that can be used for electric propulsion in the world. The analyses of experiments, static magnetic field, microwave electric field distribution show that the unstable plasma plume scintillation at low power and low flow is caused by the conversion between ordinary wave electron plasmon resonance heating mode and extraordinary wave electron cyclotron resonance heating mode. The decrease of ionization rate at a high flow rate is caused by electron loss, wall loss and electronegativity of iodine propellant. Based on this principle, an improvement scheme is proposed. The plasma source has no obvious damage after discharge, which indicates that it has the potential of long life. This work preliminarily proves that the low power electron cyclotron resonance electric propulsion scheme of low power iodine propellant is feasible.

Overview of Numerical Simulations for Calculating In-Plasma β-Decay Rates in the Framework of PANDORA Project

β-decay rates are essential inputs in stellar nucleosynthesis models to explain observed nuclear abundances. While current models continue to use terrestrial values, experiments in storage rings indicate strong divergence between decay rates of neutral and ionised atoms [1], necessitating renewed investigations into stellar decay rates. The PANDORA project aims at measuring lifetimes of specific radio-isotopes trapped in an ECR plasma (which mimics astrophysical environments to some extent) and compare them with theoretical predictions [2], consequently verifying the models and allowing decay rate estimation for any isotope in the stellar interior. We present here a simulation scheme to characterise the space-resolved charge state and level population distribution of buffer and radio-isotope ions in ECR ion sources in order to calculate in-plasma decay rates. The algorithm is based on a Particle-in-Cell Monte Carlo (PIC-MC) routine that simultaneously models charge transport with collision-radiative processes. Preliminary results from the simulation are also shown, along with important takeaways for code-optimisation.

A newly developed ECR ion source with wide dynamic range of beam current

A newly developed ECR ion source with wide dynamic range of beam current

First results of a new quadrupole minimum-B permanent magnet electron cyclotron resonance ion source

The first experimental results of a novel permanent magnet electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) with a minimum-B quadrupole magnetic field topology are presented. Bremsstrahlung measurements indicate that the electrons can reach energies of 150–200 keV. Ion charge states up to Ar11+ and Kr15+ were detected in the charge state distributions of the extracted beams. Measurements in pulsed operation mode reveal an afterglow peak, which implies that high charge state ions are confined electrostatically similar to a conventional ECRIS. The potential applications and future development of the ion source are discussed.

The capture of injected 1+ ions in charge breeder electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasma

The capture process of the 1+ ions in charge breeder electron cyclotron resonance ion sources has been attributed to cumulative small-angle scattering of the incident ions in ion–ion collisions with the buffer gas ions. The model results in controversy between the plasma potential and ion temperature values derived from simulations, and those found in the experiments. We demonstrate that the 1+ ion capture process is dominated by the slowing down of the incident ions by the ambipolar plasma potential, which has previously been assigned with a secondary importance. In this revised view, supported by experimental data, the 1+ capture does not depend on the mass of the injected and plasma ion species, or the ion temperature, which resolves the disagreement between modelling and experiments.