Effects of a dielectric material in an ion source on the ion beam current density and ion beam energy.
To understand a strong focusing phenomenon that occurs in a low-energy hydrogen ion beam, the electron temperature, the electron density, and the space potential in an ion source with cusped magnetic fields are measured before and after the transition to the focusing state using an electrostatic probe. The experimental results show that no significant changes are observed before or after the transition. However, we found unique phenomena that are characterized by the position of the electrostatic probe in the ion source chamber. Specifically, the extracted ion beam current density and energy are obviously enhanced in the case where the electrostatic probe, which is covered by a dielectric material, is placed close to an acceleration electrode.
Electron density profile measurements at a self-focusing ion beam with high current density and low energy extracted through concave electrodes.
The self-focusing phenomenon has been observed in a high current density and low energy ion beam. In order to study the mechanism of this phenomenon, a special designed double probe to measure the electron density and temperature is installed into the chamber where the high current density ion beam is injected. Electron density profile is successfully measured without the influence of the ion beam components. Estimated electron temperature and density are ∼0.9 eV and ∼8 × 10(8) cm(-3) at the center of ion beam cross section, respectively. It was found that a large amount of electrons are spontaneously accumulated in the ion beam line in the case of self-forcing state.
Magnetic plasma confinement for laser ion source.
A laser ion source (LIS) can easily provide a high current beam. However, it has been difficult to obtain a longer beam pulse while keeping a high current. On occasion, longer beam pulses are required by certain applications. For example, more than 10 micros of beam pulse is required for injecting highly charged beams to a large sized synchrotron. To extend beam pulse width, a solenoid field was applied at the drift space of the LIS at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The solenoid field suppressed the diverging angle of the expanding plasma and the beam pulse was widened. Also, it was observed that the plasma state was conserved after passing through a few hundred gauss of the 480 mm length solenoid field.