I. V. Izotov

Beam current oscillations driven by cyclotron instabilities in a minimum-Belectron cyclotron resonance ion source plasma

Experimental observation of cyclotron instabilities in a minimum-B confined electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasma is reported. The instabilities are associated with strong microwave emission and a burst of energetic electrons escaping the plasma, and explain the periodic ms-scale oscillation of the extracted beam currents. Such non-linear effects are detrimental for the confinement of highly charged ions due to plasma perturbations at shorter periodic intervals in comparison with their production time. It is shown that the repetition rate of the periodic instabilities in oxygen plasmas increases with increasing magnetic field strength and microwave power and decreases with increasing neutral gas pressure, the magnetic field strength being the most critical parameter. The occurrence of plasma turbulence is demonstrated to restrict the parameter space available for the optimization of extracted currents of highly charged ions.

High current proton beams production at Simple Mirror Ion Source 37

This paper presents the latest results of high current proton beam production at Simple Mirror Ion Source (SMIS) 37 facility at the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP RAS). In this experimental setup, the plasma is created and the electrons are heated by 37.5 GHz gyrotron radiation with power up to 100 kW in a simple mirror trap fulfilling the ECR condition. Latest experiments at SMIS 37 were performed using a single-aperture two-electrode extraction system. Proton beams with currents up to 450 mA at high voltages below 45 kV were obtained. The maximum beam current density was measured to be 600 mA/cm(2). A possibility of further improvement through the development of an advanced extraction system is discussed.

Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Preglow in ECRIS

The experimental study of the pulsed-mode operation of the PHOENIX-V2 electron cyclotron resonance ion source at 28 GHz has clearly demonstrated, when increasing the repetition rate of the high-frequency power injection at frequencies higher than 1 Hz, the reality of a transient current peak occurring at the very beginning of the plasma discharge. This regime was named Preglow as an explicit reference to the classical Afterglow occurring at the microwave pulse end. After the transient Preglow peak, the plasma regime relaxes to the classical steady-state one. Experimental argon pulses for charge states from 2+ to 8+ are presented. The current observed during the Preglow peak can reach intensities on the order of 1 mA for low charge states (Ar4+). A zero-dimension theoretical model of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) gas breakdown in a magnetic trap is presented in detail. Results of the simulation are compared with the experimental Preglow peaks and discussed.

Study of pulsed electron cyclotron resonance ion source plasma near breakdown: The preglow

A careful study of pulsed mode operation of the PHOENIX electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source has clearly demonstrated the reality of an unexpected transient current peak, occurring at the very beginning of the plasma breakdown. This regime was named the preglow, as an explicit reference to the afterglow occurring at the microwave pulse end. After the transient preglow peak, the plasma regime relaxes to the classical steady state one. Argon preglow experiments performed at LPSC are presented. A theoretical model of ECR gas breakdown in a magnetic trap, developed at IAP, showing satisfactory agreement with the experimental results is suggested.

High current proton source based on ECR discharge sustained by 37.5 GHz gyrotron radiation

Formation of hydrogen ion beams with high intensity and low transverse emittance is one of the key challenges in accelerator technology. Present work is devoted to experimental investigation of proton beam production from dense plasma (Ne > 1013 cm−3) of an ECR discharge sustained by 37.5 GHz, 100 kW gyrotron radiation at SMIS 37 facility at IAP RAS. The anticipated advantages of the SMIS 37 gasdynamic ion source over the current state-of-the-art proton source technology based on 2.45 GHz hydrogen discharges are described. Experimental result obtained with different extraction configurations i.e. single- and multi-aperture systems are presented. It was demonstrated that ultra bright proton beam with approximately 4.5 mA current and 0.03 πmmmrad normalized emittance can be produced with the single-aperture (1 mm in diameter) extraction, the corresponding brightness being 5 A/(πmmmrad)2. For production of high current beams a multi-aperture extractor was used resulting to a record of 200 mA / 1.1 πmmmrad normalized emittance proton beam. The species fraction i.e. the ratio of H+ to H2+ current was recorded to be > 90 % for all extraction systems. A possibility of further enhancement of the beam parameters by improvements of the extraction system and its power supply is discussed.

Multiaperture ion beam extraction from gas-dynamic electron cyclotron resonance source of multicharged ions.

Electron cyclotron resonance ion source with quasi-gas-dynamic regime of plasma confinement (ReGIS), constructed at the Institute of Applied Physics, Russia, provides opportunities for extracting intense and high-brightness multicharged ion beams. Despite the short plasma lifetime in a magnetic trap of a ReGIS, the degree of multiple ionization may be significantly enhanced by the increase in power and frequency of the applied microwave radiation. The present work is focused on studying the intense beam quality of this source by the pepper-pot method. A single beamlet emittance measured by the pepper-pot method was found to be approximately 70 pi mm mrad, and the total extracted beam current obtained at 14 kV extraction voltage was approximately 25 mA. The results of the numerical simulations of ion beam extraction are found to be in good agreement with experimental data.

Limitations of electron cyclotron resonance ion source performances set by kinetic plasma instabilities

Electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) plasmas are prone to kinetic instabilities due to anisotropy of the electron energy distribution function stemming from the resonant nature of the electron heating process. Electron cyclotron plasma instabilities are related to non-linear interaction between plasma waves and energetic electrons resulting to strong microwave emission and a burst of energetic electrons escaping the plasma, and explain the periodic oscillations of the extracted beam currents observed in several laboratories. It is demonstrated with a minimum-B 14 GHz ECRIS operating on helium, oxygen, and argon plasmas that kinetic instabilities restrict the parameter space available for the optimization of high charge state ion currents. The most critical parameter in terms of plasma stability is the strength of the solenoid magnetic field. It is demonstrated that due to the instabilities the optimum Bmin-field in single frequency heating mode is often ≤0.8BECR, which is the value suggested by the semiempirical scaling laws guiding the design of modern ECRISs. It is argued that the effect can be attributed not only to the absolute magnitude of the magnetic field but also to the variation of the average magnetic field gradient on the resonance surface.

Gas breakdown in electron cyclotron resonance ion sources

The realization of the beta-beam project (http://beta-beam.web.cern.ch/beta-beam/) assumes the formation of a pulsed ion beam of helium and neon radioactive isotopes. A pulsed electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) source of multicharged ions has been proposed to produce such a beam [P. Sortais et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75, 1610 (2004)]. The rising of plasma density up to a stationary level must be fast enough to actualize this approach. This condition is mandatory to avoid particle losses in the transmission line. In the presented work, the rising time of the plasma density in an ECR ion source from a background level up to 98% of a stationary level is calculated. A zero-dimensional model of plasma formation in a mirror trap [V. Semenov et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73, 635 (2002)] is used, able to make calculation for a wide range of microwave frequencies. Plasma confinement regime can either be classic (Pastoukhov [Rev. Plasma Phys. 13, 203 (1987)]) or gas dynamic, depending on the plasma parameters. The cal...

Ion beam formation in a gas-dynamic electron cyclotron resonance ion source

Generation of quasistationary flows of multicharged ions with a current density of up to 1A∕cm2 from a dense electron cyclotron resonance plasma confined in a magnetic trap under the quasi-gas-dynamic regime has been achieved [Golubev et al., Trans. Fusion Sci. Technol. 47, 345 (2005)]. This technique provides opportunities for extracting high current multicharged ion beams. The present research is concerned with experimental and theoretical investigations of two ion extraction systems for the gas-dynamic ion sources. (1) Single-aperture system. In this case, there is a principal possibility to obtain ion beams with low emittance by using a small-diameter aperture for extraction. Here we describe investigations aimed at creating nitrogen ion beams (the main ion in the spectrum is N2+) with currents of up to 6.5mA through a 1.5mm aperture in the plasma electrode. (2) Multiaperture system. Such systems provide significantly higher beam currents. First results of testing an extractor with five apertures are ...

Studies of plasma breakdown and electron heating on a 14?GHz ECR ion source through measurement of plasma bremsstrahlung

Temporal evolution of plasma bremsstrahlung emitted by a 14?GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) operated in pulsed mode is presented in the energy range 1.5?400?keV with 100??s resolution. Such a high temporal resolution together with this energy range has never been measured before with an ECRIS. Data are presented as a function of microwave power, neutral gas pressure, magnetic field configuration and seed electron density. The saturation time of the bremsstrahlung count rate is almost independent of the photon energy up to 100?keV and exhibits similar characteristics with the neutral gas balance. The average photon energy during the plasma breakdown is significantly higher than that during the steady state and depends strongly on the density of seed electrons. The results are consistent with a theoretical model describing the evolution of the electron energy distribution function during the preglow transient.