Microwave ion source for high-current implanter

A long-life, high-current, microwave ion source for an electromagnetic mass separator is described. Ionization takes place due to the 2.45-GHz microwave discharge at a magnetic field intensity which is higher than the electron cyclotron resonance magnetic field. The discharge chamber is a ridged circular waveguide. The discharge region is restricted to a rectangular volume between the ridged electrodes by filling the remaining portions with dielectric. This source operates under low pressure (10(-2)-10(-3) Torr) and with high power efficiency. The incident microwave power is only several hundred watts at maximum output. When PH(3) gas is introduced, the total extracted current is about 40 mA with a 2x40-mm extraction slit. A P(+) ion implantation current of more than 10 mA is obtained by combining the source with a 40-cm radius, 60 degrees deflection magnetic mass separator.     

Characterization of plasma parameters, first beam results, and status of electron cyclotron resonance source

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source at 50 keV, 30 mA proton current has been designed, fabricated, and assembled. Its plasma study has been done. Plasma chamber was excited with 350 W of microwave power at 2450 MHz, along with nitrogen and hydrogen gases. Microwave power was fed to the plasma chamber through waveguide. Plasma density and electron temperature were studied under various operating conditions, such as magnetic field, gas pressure, and transversal distance. Langmuir probe was used for plasma characterization using current-voltage variation. The nitrogen plasma density calculated was approximately 4.5 x 10(11) cm(-3), and electron temperatures of 3-10 eV (cold) and 45-85 eV (hot) were obtained. The total ion beam current of 2.5 mA was extracted, with two-electrode extraction geometry, at 15 keV beam energy. The optimization of the source is under progress to extract 30 mA proton beam current at 50 keV beam energy, using three-electrode extraction geometry. This source will be used as an injector to continuous wave radio frequency quadrupole, a part of 100 MeV proton linac. The required root-mean-square normalized beam emittance is less than 0.2pi mm mrad. This article presents the study of plasma parameters, first beam results, and status of ECR proton source.     

Characterization of the versatile ion source and possible applications as injector for future projects

The versatile ion source (VIS) is an off-resonance microwave discharge ion source which generates a slightly overdense plasma (n(e) ≈ 10(17) cm(-3)) operating at 2.45 GHz and producing more than 50 mA of proton beams. A detailed characterization of the source, by operating between 60 and 75 kV, in terms of emittance, current extracted and proton fraction is reported below. Moreover, passive techniques (alumina coating of the plasma chamber walls, BN disks at the injection and extraction endplates) have been used to improve the performance of the source, increasing the electron density for a more efficient ionization. The know-how achieved with the VIS source may be useful for the different project, particularly for the European spallation source.     

Development of a compact filament-discharge multi-cusp H- ion source

A 14 MeV medical cyclotron with the external ion source has been designed and is being constructed at China Institute of Atomic Energy. The H(-) ion will be accelerated by this machine and the proton beam will be extracted by carbon strippers in dual opposite direction. The compact multi-cusp H(-) ion source has been developed for the cyclotron. The 79.5 mm long ion source is 48 mm in diameter, which is consisting of a special shape filament, ten columns of permanent magnets providing a multi-cusp field, and a three-electrode extraction system. So far, the 3 mA∕25 keV H(-) beam with an emittance of 0.3 π mm mrad has been obtained from the ion source. The paper gives the design details and the beam test results. Further experimental study is under way and an extracted beam of 5 mA is expected.     

A high-current microwave ion source with permanent magnet and its beam emittance measurement

The progress of a 2.45 GHz high-current microwave ion source with permanent magnet for T(d,n)4He reaction neutron generator is reported in this paper. At 600 W microwave power and 22 kV extraction voltage, 90 mA peak hydrogen ion beam is extracted from a single aperture of 6 mm diameter. The beam emittance is measured using a simplified pepper-pot method. The (x,x(')) emittance and the (y,y(')) emittance for 14 keV hydrogen ion beam are 55.3pi and 58.2pi mm mrad, respectively. The normalized emittances are 0.302pi and 0.317pi mm mrad, respectively.     

Characteristics of low-energy ion beams extracted from a wire electrode geometry

Beams of argon ions with energies less than 50 eV were extracted from an ion source through a wire electrode extractor geometry. A retarding potential energy analyzer (RPEA) was constructed in order to characterize the extracted ion beams. The single aperture RPEA was used to determine the ion energy distribution function, the mean ion energy and the ion beam energy spread. The multi-cusp hot cathode ion source was capable of producing a low electron temperature gas discharge to form quiescent plasmas from which ion beam energy as low as 5 eV was realized. At 50 V extraction potential and 0.1 A discharge current, the ion beam current density was around 0.37 mA/cm(2) with an energy spread of 3.6 V or 6.5% of the mean ion energy. The maximum ion beam current density extracted from the source was 0.57 mA/cm(2) for a 50 eV ion beam and 1.78 mA/cm(2) for a 100 eV ion beam.     

Source fabrication and lifetime for Li+ ion beams extracted from alumino-silicate sources

A space-charge-limited beam with current densities (J) exceeding 1 mA/cm(2) have been measured from lithium alumino-silicate ion sources at a temperature of ～1275 °C. At higher extraction voltages, the source appears to become emission limited with J ≥ 1.5 mA/cm(2), and J increases weakly with the applied voltage. A 6.35 mm diameter source with an alumino-silicate coating, ≤0.25 mm thick, has a measured lifetime of ～40 h at ～1275 °C, when pulsed at 0.05 Hz and with pulse length of ～6 μs each. At this rate, the source lifetime was independent of the actual beam charge extracted due to the loss of neutral atoms at high temperature. The source lifetime increases with the amount of alumino-silicate coated on the emitting surface, and may also be further extended if the temperature is reduced between pulses.     

Subcutoff microwave driven plasma ion sources for multielemental focused ion beam systems

A compact microwave driven plasma ion source for focused ion beam applications has been developed. Several gas species have been experimented including argon, krypton, and hydrogen. The plasma, confined by a minimum B multicusp magnetic field, has good radial and axial uniformity. The octupole multicusp configuration shows a superior performance in terms of plasma density (~1.3 x 10(11) cm(-3)) and electron temperature (7-15 eV) at a power density of 5-10 Wcm(2). Ion current densities ranging from a few hundreds to over 1000 mA/cm(2) have been obtained with different plasma electrode apertures. The ion source will be combined with electrostatic Einzel lenses and should be capable of producing multielemental focused ion beams for nanostructuring and implantations. The initial simulation results for the focused beams have been presented.     

Intense beams from gases generated by a permanent magnet ECR ion source at PKU

An electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source is designed for the production of high-current ion beams of various gaseous elements. At the Peking University (PKU), the primary study is focused on developing suitable permanent magnet ECR ion sources (PMECRs) for separated function radio frequency quadrupole (SFRFQ) accelerator and for Peking University Neutron Imaging Facility. Recently, other kinds of high-intensity ion beams are required for new acceleration structure demonstration, simulation of fusion reactor material irradiation, aviation bearing modification, and other applications. So we expanded the ion beam category from O(+), H(+), and D(+) to N(+), Ar(+), and He(+). Up to now, about 120 mA of H(+), 83 mA of D(+), 50 mA of O(+), 63 mA of N(+), 70 mA of Ar(+), and 65 mA of He(+) extracted at 50 kV through a φ 6 mm aperture were produced by the PMECRs at PKU. Their rms emittances are less than 0.2 π?mm?mrad. Tungsten samples were irradiated by H(+) or He(+) beam extracted from this ion source and H∕He holes and bubbles have been observed on the samples. A method to produce a high intensity H∕He mixed beam to study synergistic effect is developed for nuclear material irradiation. To design a He(+) beam injector for coupled radio frequency quadruple and SFRFQ cavity, He(+) beam transmission experiments were carried out on PKU low energy beam transport test bench and the transmission was less than 50%. It indicated that some electrode modifications must be done to decrease the divergence of He(+) beam.     

A source of gas, vapor, metal, and carbon ions based on a low-pressure hollow-cathode discharge

A compact source of gas, vapor, metal, and carbon ions based on a cold-hollow-cathode reflective discharge has been developed, in which a 6-mm-diameter flat target (Cu, Mo, W, C) is installed on the bottom of the cold cathode insulated from it. The density of the ion flow from cathode plasma reaches 100 mA/cm² at an accelerating voltage of up to 10 kV and a discharge current of 0.2-0.5 A. Vapors produced during ion sputtering of the target are ionized in the cathode and anode cavities. A beam containing ions of the plasma-producing gas and vapor is extracted throug h the channel in the reflector cathode. A fraction of the vapor of the sputtered target, the flow of which is sufficient for growing layers at a rate of ∼0.03 nm/s at a distance of 10 cm from the emission channel under the action of an ion beam, is extracted together with ions. The fraction of metal ions in the extracted beam is 0.05-0.10. The total current of the ion beam is 20-30 mA.     

Development of a plasma generator for a long pulse ion source for neutral beam injectors

A plasma generator for a long pulse H(+)/D(+) ion source has been developed. The plasma generator was designed to produce 65 A H(+)/D(+) beams at an energy of 120 keV from an ion extraction area of 12 cm in width and 45 cm in length. Configuration of the plasma generator is a multi-cusp bucket type with SmCo permanent magnets. Dimension of a plasma chamber is 25 cm in width, 59 cm in length, and 32.5 cm in depth. The plasma generator was designed and fabricated at Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Source plasma generation and beam extraction tests for hydrogen coupling with an accelerator of the KSTAR ion source have been performed at the KSTAR neutral beam test stand under the agreement of Japan-Korea collaborative experiment. Spatial uniformity of the source plasma at the extraction region was measured using Langmuir probes and ±7% of the deviation from an averaged ion saturation current density was obtained. A long pulse test of the plasma generation up to 200 s with an arc discharge power of 70 kW has been successfully demonstrated. The arc discharge power satisfies the requirement of the beam production for the KSTAR NBI. A 70 keV, 41 A, 5 s hydrogen ion beam has been extracted with a high arc efficiency of 0.9 -1.1 A/kW at a beam extraction experiment. A deuteron yield of 77% was measured even at a low beam current density of 73 mA/cm(2).     

Deuteron injector for Peking University Neutron Imaging Facility project

The deuteron injector developed for the PKUNIFTY (Peking University Neutron Imaging Facility) has been installed and commissioned at Peking University (PKU). The injector system must transfer 50 keV 50 mA of D(+) ion beam to the entrance of the 2 MeV radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) with 10% duty factor (1 ms, 100 Hz). A compact 2.45 GHz permanent magnet electron cyclotron resonance (PMECR) ion source and a 1.36 m long low energy beam transport (LEBT) line using two solenoids was developed as the deuteron injector. A φ5 mm four-quadrant diaphragm was used to simulate the entrance of RFQ electrodes. The beam parameters are measured after this core with an emittance measurement unit (EMU) and a bending magnet for ion fraction analysis at the end of injector. During the commissioning, 77 mA of total deuteron beam was extracted from PMECR and 56 mA of pure D(+) beam that passed through the φ5 mm four-quadrant diaphragm was obtained at the position of RFQ entrance with the measured normalized rms emittance 0.12-0.16π?mm?mrad. Ion species analysis results show that the deuteron fraction is as high as 99.5%. All of the parameters satisfy PKUNIFTY's requirements. In this paper, we will describe the deuteron injector design and report the commissioning results as well as the initial operation.     

Research and development of H- ion source and low energy beam transport for a kaon-neutrino factory

A baseline H(-) ion source and low energy beam transport (LEBT) system have been identified for Project X. The filament-discharge H(-) ion source has been fabricated by D-Pace, Inc. and is now in operation at LBNL. The source is capable of delivering over 10 mA of H(-) beam in cw operation with normalized 4 rms emittances less than 0.7 π mm mrad. A two-solenoid magnetic lens LEBT system has been design. The design has been validated with simulations of beam transport for 5 mA 30 keV H(-) beams using various simulation codes.     

Optimization of negative ion current in a compact microwave driven upper hybrid resonance multicusp plasma source

Performance of a microwave driven upper hybrid resonance multicusp plasma source as a volume negative ion source is reported. Microwaves are directly launched into the plasma chamber predominantly in the TE(11) mode. The source is operated at different discharge conditions to obtain the optimized negative H(-) ion current which is ～33 μA (0.26 mA∕cm(2)). Particle balance equations are solved to estimate the negative ion density, which is compared with the experimental results. Future prospects of the source are discussed.     

Producing persistent, high-current, high-duty-factor H- beams for routine 1 MW operation of Spallation Neutron Source (invited)

Since 2009, the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) has been producing neutrons with ion beam powers near 1 MW, which requires the extraction of ～50 mA H(-) ions from the ion source with a ～5% duty factor. The 50 mA are achieved after an initial dose of ～3 mg of Cs and heating the Cs collar to ～170 °C. The 50 mA normally persist for the entire 4-week source service cycles. Fundamental processes are reviewed to elucidate the persistence of the SNS H(-) beams without a steady feed of Cs and why the Cs collar temperature may have to be kept near 170 °C.     

Reliability test of an electron cyclotron resonance ion source for accelerator driven sub-critical system

The reliability test of an electron cyclotron resonance ion source developed for accelerator driven sub-critical system is carried out in China Institute of Atomic Energy. A unique technique to improve the reliability is adopted. The source is operated for more than 200 h at 75 keV, 100 mA extracted hydrogen current, while 2 beam trips are recorded in the period, and uninterrupted operation time is about 150 h. The experimental result is described.     

A tetrode based fast pulsed microwave source for electron cyclotron resonance breakdown experiments

To study electron cylotron resonance (ECR) breakdown and afterglow plasma in an experimental linear plasma system, a pulsed microwave source with rapid rise and fall of microwave power is desired. A pulsed microwave source with fast rise and fall capability for ECR breakdown experiments has been designed and tested for performance in the system. A tetrode, controlled by a modulator card, is used as a fast switch to initiate microwave power from a conventional magnetron operating at 2.45 GHz. The typical rise time of microwave power is approximately 3 micros and a fall time of approximately 10 micros. Using this scheme in a realistic pulsed microwave source at 800 W power, ECR breakdown of neutral gas is achieved and the plasma delay and fall time are observed from the plasma density measurements using a Langmuir probe. The design details of the fast rise pulsed microwave source are presented in this article with initial experimental results.     

Plasma studies on electron cyclotron resonance light ion source at CEA∕Saclay

By the 90s, the CEA has undertaken to develop the production of intense light ion beams from unconfined ECR plasma. Today, three sources for IPHI, SPIRAL2, and IFMIF projects (respectively, 100 mA of H(+), 8 mA of D(+), and 140 mA of D(+)) are installed at CEA∕Saclay. In order to improve performances and decrease dimensions of these sources, it is necessary to better understand the mechanisms involved in the production and extraction of particles. As a consequence, theoretical and experimental studies are being carried out. We present a theoretical study based on SOLMAXP, a home-made particle-in-cell code. The aim is to investigate the possibility of reducing the plasma chamber size without loss of beam characteristics. This code has been validated by beam intensity measurements on a permanent magnet based source, producing a proton beam of 30 mA at 40 kV on the test bench BETSI. In order to reduce experimentally the dimensions of plasma chamber, a new source, named ALISES with variable plasma chamber volume, is under assembly.     

Magnetic multipole line-cusp plasma generator for neutral beam injectors

The magnetic multipole line-cusp device developed by MacKenzie and associates has been adapted for use as a neutral beam ion source. It has produced high-density, large volume, quiescent, uniform hydrogen plasmas, which makes it a potential candidate for use as a plasma generator for neutral beam injectors. The device is a water-cooled cylindrical copper discharge chamber (25 cm in diameter by 36 cm long) with one end enclosed by a set of extraction grids with a 15-cm-diam multi-aperture pattern. The chamber wall serves as an anode and is surrounded by an external system of rare-earth cobalt magnets arranged in a line-cusp geometry of 12 cusps; plasma is produced by electron emission from a hot cathode assembly. This source has achieved extracted beam currents of 12 A at 18.5 kV, radial plasma density uniformities of +/-5% over a 15-cm diameter, noise levels of less than +/-0.5%, and arc efficiencies (beam current/arc power) of 0.6 A/kW.