Superconducting Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source Research Articles

Facility upgrade for superheavy-element research at RIKEN

The RIKEN Nishina Center (RNC) executed an accelerator upgrade project for the heavy-ion linac (called RILAC). A superconducting RIKEN linear accelerator (SRILAC) and a new superconducting electron-cyclotron-resonance ion source (SC-ECRIS) to boost the final energy and intensity were constructed, aimed at synthesizing a new superheavy element, 119, through a hot fusion reaction. The project included the construction of a gas-filled recoil ion separator (GARIS-III) suitable for detecting the residues of the hot-fusion reaction. To avoid research interruption during the SRILAC construction period (2017–2019) and gain experience in hot-fusion reaction processes, GARIS-II located in the GARIS experimental hall in LINAC building was moved to the E6 experimental hall in Nishina building. Certain exploratory measurements were performed employing the beams accelerated by RILAC2 and the RIKEN ring cyclotron (RRC), which is a part of the existing accelerator complex of the radioactive isotope beam factory (RIBF). Further, commissioning experiments with the upgraded facility (SRILAC and GARIS-III) were performed. The upgrade project and its commissioning results are chronologically described in this article.

Superconducting Linac Booster for Super-Heavy Element Experiments at RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory

The Rikagaku Kenkyūjo (RIKEN) heavy-ion linac was upgraded by introducing a new super-conducting linac-booster to advance the super-heavy elements synthesis program beyond nihonium at the RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF). The total acceleration voltage was upgraded from 25 MV with 12 room temperature drift-tube-linacs (DTLs) to 39 MV by introducing a superconducting linac booster, SRILAC. The upgrade of the beam intensity is realized by a newly constructed superconducting electron-cyclotron resonance ion source (SC-ECRIS). The construction of SRILAC and the SC-ECRIS started in FY2017. After the hardware installation and commissioning, the first beam acceleration test was successfully conducted at the end of FY2019, and user beam service was started in FY2020. This article provides an overview of the upgrade and its present performance.

Influence of electron cyclotron resonance ion source parameters on high energy electrons.

In order to diagnose the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma, a high-efficiency collimation system has been developed at the Institute of Modern Physics, and the bremsstrahlung spectra in the range of 10 keV-300 keV were measured on a third generation superconducting ECR ion source, SECRAL-II, with a CdTe detector. Used as a comparative index of the mean energy of the high energy electron population, the spectral temperature, Ts, is derived through a linear fitting of the spectra in a semi-logarithmic representation. The influences of some main source parameters, such as the neutral gas pressure, extraction voltage, microwave power, and bias disk voltage, on the high energy electrons are systemically investigated.

Overview of high intensity ion source development in the past 20 years at IMP.

Ion source development over the last 20 years at the IMP is reviewed. For versatile purposes, several types of ion sources have been involved in the research and development work at the IMP, i.e., the highly charged ECR (Electron Cyclotron Resonance) ion source, intense microwave ion source or the 2.45 GHz intense beam ECR ion source, and laser ion source (LIS). In the development of ECR ion sources, SECRAL (Superconducting ECR ion source with Advanced design in Lanzhou), Lanzhou ECR ion source, and Lanzhou all permanent magnet ECR ion source series have been made, which can cover the operation microwave frequency range of 10-28 GHz. The LIS with an Nd:YAG laser with a maximum output energy of 8 J in 8 ns pulse duration has been developed for very intense short pulse ion beams from solid materials such as C, Ti, Ni, Ag, and so on. Microwave ion sources have been built to produce intense pulsed or direct current beams from several mA to 100 mA for either high intensity accelerators or applications. This paper will give an overview of the high intensity ion source development at the IMP, especially on the recent progress and new results, such as the status of the fourth generation ECR ion source (first fourth generation ECR ion source), the production of recorded highly charged ion beams with SECRAL sources, key technology research studies, and so on.

Control system for the new RIKEN 28-GHz superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source for SRILAC.

A new RIKEN 28-GHz superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source (SC-ECRIS) has been installed for the superconducting RIKEN linear accelerator (SRILAC). The new SC-ECRIS control system mainly consists of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) embedded with the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System. To improve the reliability as compared with previous control systems, two types of PLC central processing units, sequential and Linux, have been installed in the same unit. Past experience has shown that new types of designs that can rapidly respond to system scalability are key. By connecting PLC stations using star-topology field buses, their rapid and cost-effective response to system changes is realized for the new devices. Furthermore, a unique data acquisition system employing a 920-MHz-band radio was developed to measure analog data such as the temperature at the high-voltage stage.

Advancement of highly charged ion beam production by superconducting ECR ion source SECRAL (invited).

At Institute of Modern Physics (IMP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the superconducting Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion source SECRAL (Superconducting ECR ion source with Advanced design in Lanzhou) has been put into operation for about 10 years now. It has been the main working horse to deliver intense highly charged heavy ion beams for the accelerators. Since its first plasma at 18 GHz, R&D work towards more intense highly charged ion beam production as well as the beam quality investigation has never been stopped. When SECRAL was upgraded to its typical operation frequency 24 GHz, it had already showed its promising capacity of very intense highly charged ion beam production. And it has also provided the strong experimental support for the so called scaling laws of microwave frequency effect. However, compared to the microwave power heating efficiency at 18 GHz, 24 GHz microwave heating does not show the ω(2) scale at the same power level, which indicates that microwave power coupling at gyrotron frequency needs better understanding. In this paper, after a review of the operation status of SECRAL with regard to the beam availability and stability, the recent study of the extracted ion beam transverse coupling issues will be discussed, and the test results of the both TE01 and HE11 modes will be presented. A general comparison of the performance working with the two injection modes will be given, and a preliminary analysis will be introduced. The latest results of the production of very intense highly charged ion beams, such as 1.42 emA Ar(12+), 0.92 emA Xe(27+), and so on, will be presented.

Fabrication of the plasma chamber for the SC-ECRIS of the RAON accelerator

The RAON is the heavy ion accelerator being built in Korea. A 3rd generation SC-ECRIS (Super Conducting Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source) which uses 28 GHz/18 GHz microwave power is used to extract a high-current heavy-ion beam. The plasma chamber for that ECRIS was fabricated and assembled. It is made of aluminum to increase the beam current. It also contains a cooling channel, an X-ray shield, and high voltage insulation. The extraction electrodes are aligned through precise machining and assembly. The plasma chamber has been installed at the test site. The first plasma ignition and beam extraction will be done in the near future.

A simulation of X-ray shielding for a superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source

It is generally assumed that large amounts of x-rays are emitted from the ion source of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) instrument. The total amount of x-rays should be strictly limited to avoid the extra heat load to the cryostat of the superconducting ECR ion source, since they are partly absorbed by the cold mass into the cryostat. A simulation of x-ray shielding was carried out to determine the effective thickness of the x-ray shield needed via the use of Geant4. X-ray spectra of the 10 GHz Nanogan ECR ion source were measured as a function of the thickness variation in the x-ray shield. The experimental results were compared with Geant4 results to verify the effectiveness of the x-ray shield. Based on the validity in the case of the 10 GHz ECR ion source, the x-ray shielding results are presented by assuming the spectral temperature of the 28 GHz ECR ion source.

New development of advanced superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source SECRAL (invited)

Superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source with advance design in Lanzhou (SECRAL) is an 18-28 GHz fully superconducting electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source dedicated for highly charged heavy ion beam production. SECRAL, with an innovative superconducting magnet structure of solenoid-inside-sextupole and at lower frequency and lower rf power operation, may open a new way for developing compact and reliable high performance superconducting ECR ion source. One of the recent highlights achieved at SECRAL is that some new record beam currents for very high charge states were produced by 18 GHz or 18+14.5 GHz double frequency heating, such as 1 e microA of (129)Xe(43+), 22 e microA of (209)Bi(41+), and 1.5 e microA of (209)Bi(50+). To further enhance the performance of SECRAL, a 24 GHz/7 kW gyrotron microwave generator was installed and SECRAL was tested at 24 GHz. Some promising and exciting results at 24 GHz with new record highly charged ion beam intensities were produced, such as 455 e microA of (129)Xe(27+) and 152 e microA of (129)Xe(30+), although the commissioning time was limited within 3-4 weeks and rf power only 3-4 kW. Bremsstrahlung measurements at 24 GHz show that x-ray is much stronger with higher rf frequency, higher rf power. and higher minimum mirror magnetic field (minimum B). Preliminary emittance measurements indicate that SECRAL emittance at 24 GHz is slightly higher that at 18 GHz. SECRAL has been put into routine operation at 18 GHz for heavy ion research facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) accelerator complex since May 2007. The total operation beam time from SECRAL for HIRFL accelerator has been more than 2000 h, and (129)Xe(27+), (78)Kr(19+), (209)Bi(31+), and (58)Ni(19+) beams were delivered. All of these new developments, the latest results, and long-term operation for the accelerator have again demonstrated that SECRAL is one of the best in the performance of ECR ion source for highly charged heavy ion beam production. Finally the future development of SECRAL will be presented.

New superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source for RIKEN RI beam factory project

For RIKEN radio isotope beam project, we started to construct the new superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source (SC-ECRIS), which has an operational frequency of 28 GHz, in 2007. The main feature of this ion source is that we can produce large size of resonance zone with six sets of solenoid coils. Before starting, we intensively studied the effect of several key parameters of ECRIS (magnetic field configuration, microwave power density, negatively biased disk) on the plasma. In this article, we describe the effect of key parameters on the plasma and detailed structure of the new SC-ECRIS.

Intense beam production of highly charged heavy ions by the superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source SECRAL (invited)

There has been increasing demand to provide higher beam intensity and high enough beam energy for heavy ion accelerator and some other applications, which has driven electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source to produce higher charge state ions with higher beam intensity. One of development trends for highly charged ECR ion source is to build new generation ECR sources by utilization of superconducting magnet technology. SECRAL (superconducting ECR ion source with advanced design in Lanzhou) was successfully built to produce intense beams of highly charged ion for Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). The ion source has been optimized to be operated at 28 GHz for its maximum performance. The superconducting magnet confinement configuration of the ion source consists of three axial solenoid coils and six sextupole coils with a cold iron structure as field booster and clamping. An innovative design of SECRAL is that the three axial solenoid coils are located inside of the sextupole bore in order to reduce the interaction forces between the sextupole coils and the solenoid coils. For 28 GHz operation, the magnet assembly can produce peak mirror fields on axis of 3.6 T at injection, 2.2 T at extraction, and a radial sextupole field of 2.0 T at plasma chamber wall. During the commissioning phase at 18 GHz with a stainless steel chamber, tests with various gases and some metals have been conducted with microwave power less than 3.5 kW by two 18 GHz rf generators. It demonstrates the performance is very promising. Some record ion beam intensities have been produced, for instance, 810 e microA of O(7+), 505 e microA of Xe(20+), 306 e microA of Xe(27+), and so on. The effect of the magnetic field configuration on the ion source performance has been studied experimentally. SECRAL has been put into operation to provide highly charged ion beams for HIRFL facility since May 2007.

Simulation and beamline experiments for the superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source VENUS

The particle-in-cell code WARP has been enhanced to incorporate both two- and three-dimensional sheath extraction models giving WARP the capability of simulating entire ion beam transport systems including the extraction of beams from plasma sources. In this article, we describe a method of producing initial ion distributions for plasma extraction simulations in electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion sources based on experimentally measured sputtering on the source biased disk. Using this initialization method, we present preliminary results for extraction and transport simulations of an oxygen beam and compare them with experimental beam imaging on a quartz viewing plate for the superconducting ECR ion source VENUS.

Measurements of bremsstrahlung spectra of Lanzhou ECR Ion Source No. 3 (LECR3)

In order to diagnose the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma, electron bremsstrahlung spectra were measured by a HPGe detector on Lanzhou ECR Ion Source No. 3 at IMP. The ion source was operated with argon under various working conditions, including different microwave power, mixing gas, extraction high voltage (HV), and so on. Some of the measured spectra are presented in this article. The dependence of energetic electron population on mixing gas and extraction HV is also described. Additionally, we are looking forward to further measurements on SECRAL (Superconducting ECR Ion Source with Advanced design at Lanzhou).

Advanced superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source SECRAL: Design, construction, and the first test result

Superconducting electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source with advanced design in Lanzhou (SECRAL) is a next generation ECR ion source and aims for developing a very compact superconducting ECR ion source with a structure and high performances for highly charged ion-beam production. The ion source was designed to be operated at 18GHz at initial operation and finally will be extended to 28GHz. The superconducting magnet confinement configuration of the ion source consists of three axial solenoid coils and six sextupole coils with a cold iron structure as field booster and clamping. At full excitation, this magnet assembly can produce peak mirror fields on the axis of 3.6T at injection, 2.2T at extraction, and a radial sextupole field of 2.0T at plasma chamber wall. What is different from the traditional design, such as LBNL VENUS and LNS SERSE, is that the three axial solenoid coils are located inside of the sextupole bore in order to reduce the interaction forces between the sextupole coils and the solenoid coils. SECRAL may open the way for building a compact and high-performance 18–28GHz superconducting ECR ion source. Very preliminary commissioning results are promising. Detailed design, construction issues and very preliminary test results of the ion source at 18GHz are presented.

ARTEMIS-B: A room-temperature test electron cyclotron resonance ion source for the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University

The current scheme for ion-beam injection into the coupled cyclotron accelerator at the NSCL involves the use of two electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion sources. The first one is a 6.4GHz fully superconducting that will be replaced within two years by SUSI, a third generation 18GHz superconducting ECR ion source. The other source, ARTEMIS, is a room-temperature source based on the AECR-U design and built in collaboration with the University of Jyväskylä in 1999. Due to cyclotron operation constraint, very little time can be allowed to ion source development and optics studies of the cyclotron injection beam line. In this context, NSCL has decided to build ARTEMIS-B an exact replica of its room-temperature ECR ion source. The goal of this project is threefold. One is to improve the overall reliability of cyclotron operation through tests and studies of various ion source parameters that could benefit beam stability, tuning reproducibility, and of course overall extracted currents performance. Second is to implement and test modifications or upgrade made to the ion source: extraction geometry, new resistive or rf oven design, dual frequency use, liner, etc. Finally, this test source will be used to study various ion optics schemes such as electrostatic quadrupole doublet or triplet at the source extraction or the use of a correction sextupole and assess their effect on the ion beam through the use of an emittance scanner and imaging viewer that will be incorporated into ARTEMIS-B beam line. This article reviews the design and construction of ARTEMIS-B along with some initial commissioning results.

Status report of the 28GHz superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source VENUS (invited)

The superconducting versatile electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source for nuclear science (VENUS) is a next generation superconducting ECR ion source designed to produce high-current, high-charge-state ions for the 88-Inch Cyclotron at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. VENUS also serves as the prototype ion source for the rare isotope accelerator (RIA) front end, where the goal is to produce intense beams of medium-charge-state ions. Example beams for the RIA accelerator are 15pμA of Kr17+(260eμA), 12pμA of Xe20+ (240eμA of Xe20+), and 8pμA of U28+(230eμA). To achieve these high currents, VENUS has been optimized for operation at 28GHz, reaching maximal confinement fields of 4 and 3T axially and over 2.2T on the plasma chamber wall radially. After a commissioning phase at 18GHz, the source started the 28GHz operation in the summer of 2004. During that ongoing 28GHz commissioning process, record ion-beam intensities have been extracted. For instance, measured extracted currents for the low to medium charge states were 270eμA of Xe27+ and 245eμA of Bi29+, while for the higher charge states 15eμA of Xe34+, 15eμA of Bi41+, and 0.5eμA of Bi50+ could be produced. Results from the ongoing 28GHz commissioning as well as results using double-frequency heating with 18 and 28GHz for oxygen and xenon are presented. The effect of the minimum B field on the ion source performance has been systematically measured for 18 and 28GHz. In both cases the performance peaked at a minimum B field of about 80% of the resonance field. In addition, a strong dependence of the x-ray flux and energy on the minimum B field value was found.

Investigation about the modes in the cylindrical cavity of an ECR ion source

Both theoretical and numerical electromagnetic analyses about the modes inside the cylindrical cavity of superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source (SERSE) have been performed. Modes close to 14, 18 and 28 GHz frequencies, usually employed in SERSE operating conditions, have been calculated in vacuum and when the chamber is filled with a uniform non-collisional plasma at different electron densities. To consider the holes present in the chamber flanges, a numerical approach has been used, by means of the HFSSTM electromagnetic simulator, for the first mode in the cavity. Modes in a plasma-filled cylindrical cavity with holed bases have full width half maximum bandwidths larger with regard to the closed cavity in vacuum, and it leads to an increased mode frequency overlap. A monochromatic electromagnetic wave feeding this cavity can, in principle, excite different modes. Further investigations about the coupling between the SERSE cavity and its feeding waveguides have to be performed.

Brief review of multiple charge state ECR ion sources in Lanzhou

Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion sources have been under development in Institute of Modern physics (IMP) for more than 25 years. With these years’ study, we have done a lot in this field and developed many outstanding high performance ECR ion sources including the 10GHz LECR1 (Lanzhou ECR ion source No.1), 14.5GHz LECR2, the double-frequency heating ECR ion source-LECR3 and the latest being developed fully superconducting source-SECRAL (Superconducting ECR ion source with Advanced design at Lanzhou), which is supposed to be a higher performance source with an innovative magnet design. Apart from the solenoidal coils type ECR ion sources we have also constructed some all permanent ECR ion sources, such as the LAPECR1 (Lanzhou All Permanent ECR ion source No.1) and LAPECR2. These sources mentioned above work together to deliver intense multiple charge state ion beams for HIRFL (Heavy Ion Research Facility at Lanzhou) accelerators’ injection and atomic physics research. In this paper, we will have a brief review on the IMP ECR ion sources and the typical results of the gaseous element ion beams and also the metallic ion beams. The application of the ion beams on accelerators and atomic physics research will be briefly introduced.

Difference in the performances of ECR ion sources when they are fed by klystron-based generator or travelling-wave-tube-based generator

During recent experiments, a different behaviour of the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source CAESAR was observed at INFN-LNS, when it was operated by means of a travelling-wave-tube-based generator with respect to the standard operation by means of a klystron-based generator. The current available for argon-high charge states was significantly higher in the former case. The same test was repeated with the other source available at LNS, i.e. the superconducting ECR ion source SERSE, with oxygen in place of argon, and the results were similar.A description of the experimental set-up and of the results obtained in the two cases is given in the following.

ECR ion sources at the Institute of Modern Physics: From classical to fully superconducting device

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion sources are used for cyclotron complex and atomic physics research at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP). Intense beams of highly charged gaseous and metallic ions could be produced by the IMP 14.5 GHz ECR ion source (LECR2-Lanzhou Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source No. 2). A particular emphasis has been put on the production of metallic ion beams recently. Metallic ion beams of Mg, Ca, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb were tested at the IMP 14.5 GHz ECR ion source (LECR2) to improve beam intensities and long-term stability. A new ECR ion source (Lanzhou Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source No. 3), an upgraded version of the IMP 14.5 GHz ECR (LECR2) but with double-frequency wave heating (10 GHz+14.5 GHz), is under commissioning. The preliminary results of this new source will be presented. To satisfy the requirements of the heavy ion cooling storage ring that is under construction at IMP, a fully superconducting ECR ion source (Lanzhou Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source with Superconducting Coils) with a completely new structure is being developed for the production of intense heavy ion beams of very high charge states, such as Xe30+ and U40+. The superconducting magnet consists of three axial solenoid coils and six saddle-curved sextupole coils with a cold iron structure as field booster and clamp. At full excitation, this magnet assembly will produce maximum peak fields on axis of 4.0 T at the injection, 2.2 T at the extraction region, and a radial sextupole field of 2.0 T at plasma chamber wall. The design features and status of this new superconducting ECR ion source will be presented.