第三代和第四代ECR离子源:未来展望

Since the end of’70s the Electron Cyclotron Resonance ion sources(ECRIS)allowed to increase both the energy and intensity of the beams available from different types of accelerators;perspectives for the future are still optimistic.It is commonly agreed that only some ECRIS parameters have been fully exploited, whether some others are still not efficiently used,or not understood.The developments in the last 20 years have followed the so called Standard Model and the availability of higher frequency generators and higher field magnets have permitted relevant increase;the use of Nb_3Sn may extend the range.The availability of new schemes of microwave coupling to plasma is promising,and the focusing of the electromagnetic wave towards the chamber axis may improve the density of warm electron population.The paper will also describe some critical point of the 3~(rd) generation ECRIS(including technological troubles and limits)and the scenario for future 4~(th) generation ECRIS,operating at f=56—75GHz,to be built in 2010s.     

LAPECR2离子源在320kV高压平台上的试运行

The high charge state all permanent Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source(ECRIS)LAPECR2 (Lanzhou All Permanent magnet ECR ion source No.2)has been successfully put on the 320kV HV platform at IMP and also has been connected with the successive LEBT system.This source is the largest and heaviest all permanent magnet ECRIS in the world.The maximum mirror field is 1.28T(without iron plug)and the effective plasma chamber volume is as large as (?)67mm×255mm.It was designed to be operated at 14.5GHz and aimed to produce medium charge state and high charge state gaseous and also metallic ion beams.The source has already successfully delivered some intense gaseous ion beams to successive experimental terminals.This paper will give a brief overview of the basic features of this permanent magnet ECRIS.Then commissioning results of this source on the platform,the design of the extraction system together with the successive LEBT system will be presented.     

对ECR离子源多极磁场结构的改进

Experiments have shown that especially the radial magnetic field component plays a crucial role in the production of highly charged ions with Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources(ECRIS).However, in several room temperature operating ECRISs the radial magnetic field strength is below the optimum value, mainly due to the limits in permanent magnet technology.Remarkable radial magnetic field improvement can be reached with a relatively simple and cost-effective idea called Modified MultiPole Structure(MMPS).The MMPS differs strongly from the former structures because here the magnetic field is increased only locally without affecting the plasma size.The idea was studied experimentally with a new MMPS plasma chamber prototype,which was designed and constructed for the JYFL 6.4GHz ECRIS.The new chamber is versatile and made it possible to perform several new types of measurements.These showed that the MMPS is especially applicable to increase very high charge-state ion production.Typically the ion current increases more than a factor of 2 in the case of highly charged ions such as Ar~(16 ).     

VENUS离子源的最新结果(28GHz)

The nest generation, superconducting ECR ion source VENUS (Versatile ECR ion source for Nuclear Science) has operated with 28GHz since 2004,and has produced world record ion beam intesities. The VENUS project is focused on two main objectives. First, for the 88-Inch Cyclotron,VENUS will serve as the third injector soures boosting both the energy and itensity of beams available form the facility.Seconly,VENUS also serves as the prototype injector source for a high intensity heavy ion beam driver linac for a next generation radioactive ion beam facility, where the goal is to produce intense beams of medium to low charge states ions such as 240eμA of Xe 20 or 250eμA of U28 to 34 . These high intensity ion beam requerements present a challenge for the beam transport system since the total currents extracte from the ECR ion source reach several mA. Therefore in parallel to io beam develoments,we are also enhancing our ion beam diagnostics devices and are conducting an extensive ion beam simulation effort to improve the understanding of the ion beam ransprot form the VENUS ECR ion source. The paper will give an overview of recent experiments with the VENUS ECR ion source. Since the last ECR ion source workshop in Berkeley in 2004.we have installed a new plasma chamber,which includes X-ray shielding.This enables us to operate the source reliably at high power 28GHz operation.With this new chamber several high intensity beams(such as 2.4mA ofO6 ,600eμA of Ar9 ,etc.) have been produced. In addition, we have started the developent of high intensity uranium beams. For example, 200eμA of U33 and U34 have been produced so far. In respect to high charge state ions,leμA of Ar18 ,133eμA of Ar16 ,and 4.9eμA of U47 have been measured. In addition,ion beam profile meaurements are presented with ,and without the sextupole magnetic field energized. These expeerimental results are being compared with simulations using the WARP code.     

SECRAL在18GHz频率下产生强流高电荷态离子束的初步结果

A Superconducting ECR ion source with Advanced design in Lanzhou (SECRAL) was successfully built to produce intense beams of highly charged ions for Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL).The ion source has been optimized to be operated at 28GHz 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.For 28GHz operation,the magnet assembly can produce peak mirror fields on axis 3.6T at injection,2.2T at extraction and a radial sextupole field of 2.0T at plasma chamber wall.A unique feature 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. During the ongoing commissioning phase at 18GHz with a stainless steel chamber,tests with various gases and some metals have been conducted with microwave power less than 3.2kW and it turned out the performance is very promising.Some record ion beam intensities have been produced,for instance,810eμA of O~(7 ),505eμA of Xe~(20 ),306eμA of Xe~(27 ),21eμA of Xe~(34 ),2.4eμA of Xe~(38 ) and so on.To reach better results for highly charged ion beams,further modifications such as an aluminium chamber with better cooling,higher microwave power and a movable extraction system will be done,and also emittance measurements are being prepared.     

在JYFL开展的研究工作：等离子体势的测量、电子加热的模拟、JYFL-MMPS及高温炉子

Extensive plasma potential measurements have been carried out using a device developed at JYFL. In this article the main results of the measurements will be summarized.A new simulation code to study the electron heating is being developed.One objective of the code is to determine the change of the electron loss cone when the magnetic field component of the electromagnetic wave is taken into account along with the permittivity of the plasma.As a part of the work,accurate X-ray measurements have been initiated. A new plasma chamber based on the MMPS-concept(Modified MultiPole Structure)has successfully been constructed and tested with the JYFL 6.4GHz ECRIS.The results and conclusions will be presented elsewhere in these proceedings.In the same article,a new concept of ECRIS and first results will be presented.The active development work of evaporation ovens has been carried out in a joint European collaboration(ISIBHI). The objective of the task is to make the operation of the oven reliable at 2000℃for several days.Both resistively and inductively heated ovens have been studied and further developed.The status of this work will be presented.     

14.5GHz紧凑型、低成本、全永磁ECR离子源

A compact 14.5GHz electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source for the production of slow, multiply charged ions has been constructed,with the plasma-confining magnetic field produced exclusively by permanent magnets.Microwave power of up to 175W in the frequency range from 12.75 to 14.SGHz is transmitted from ground potential via a PTFE window into the water-cooled plasma chamber which can be equipped with an aluminum liner.The waveguide coupling system serves also as biased electrode,and two remotely-controlled gas inlet valves connected via an insulating break permit plasma operation in the gas- mixing mode.A triode extraction system sustains ion acceleration voltages between 1kV and 10kV.The ECR ion source is fully computer-controlled and can be remotely operated from any desired location via Ethernet.     

电子回旋共振放电电离特性的PIC/MCC模拟

A theoretical and computational model is presented to study the ionization of the argon electron cyclotron resonance(ECR)microwave discharge using a quasi-three-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in- cell plus Monte Carlo collision method.The interaction between the charged particles and microwave fields are described by the electromagnetic mode of particle-in-cell method.The collision processes are treated with Monte Carlo method.The simulation code is the original work.The results of the particle simulation for the ECR discharge of argon gas which include the microscopic features of charged particles and the electromagnetic characteristics of the ECR discharge plasma,and also the transient phenomena have been presented.     

高频ECR离子源的最新进展

As they are first optimized for their ion losses,ECRISs are always under a fundamental compromise: having high losses and strong confinement at the same time.To help ECR ion source developers in the design or improvement of existing machines,general comments are presented in a review article being soon published. In this 160 pages contribution,fundamental aspects of ECRISs are presented,with a discussion of electron temperature and confinement and ion confinement.Then,as microwaves play a key role in these machines, a chapter presents major guidelines for microwave launching and coupling to ECR plasma.Moreover,once ECR plasma is created,understanding this plasma is important in ion sourcery;and a section is dedicated to plasma diagnostics with an emphasis on the determination of electron and ion density and temperature by vacuum ultraviolet(VUV)spectroscopy.Another chapter deals with the role of magnetic confinement and presents updated scaling laws.Next chapter presents different types of ECRISs designed according to the main parameters previously described.Finally,some industrial applications of ECRISs and ECR plasmas in general are presented like ion implantation and photon lithography.Some hints taken from this review article are presented in the following article.     

第四代ECR离子源的主要概念(摘要)

To go beyond the present and planned third generation ECR ion sources operating at microwave frequencies between 20 and 30GHz to a fourth generation of sources operating above 50GHz offers new oppor- tunities and challenges.Based on the experimentally demonstrated frequency scaling,a doubling in operating frequency could provide more intense high charge state beams with higher charge states.The technical chal- lenges include the development of magnetic structures capable of producing 8T solenoid field and 4T sextupole fields,production and coupling of high power microwave power to heat the plasma,extraction of intense mul- tiple charge ion beams from a region of strong magnetic field and shielding of bremstrahlung from the hot electrons.In this paper,the status of high field superconducting magnets now under development for acceler- ator applications,gyrotrons for microwave power and other technical aspects that would be incorporated into a fourth generation ECR ion source are explored and applied to a conceptual design.     

不同磁路电子回旋共振离子源引出实验

空间推进所用的电子回旋共振离子源(ECRIS)应具有体积小、效率高的特点. 本文研究的ECRIS使用永磁体环产生磁场, 有效减小了体积, 该离子源利用微波在磁场中加热电子, 电子与中性气体发生电离碰撞产生等离子体. 磁场在微波加热电子的过程中起关键作用, 同时影响离子源内等离子体的约束和输运. 通过比较四种磁路结构离子源的离子电流引出特性来研究磁场对10 cm ECRIS性能的影响. 实验发现: 在使用氩气的条件下, 特定结构的离子源可引出160 mA的离子电流, 最高推进剂利用率达60%, 最小放电损耗为120 W·A^-1; 所有离子源均存在多个工作状态, 工作状态在微波功率、气体流量、引出电压变化时会发生突变. 离子源发生状态突变时的微波功率、气体流量的大小与离子源内磁体的位置有关. 通过比较不同离子源的引出离子束流、放电损耗、气体利用率、工作稳定性的差异, 归纳了磁场结构对此种ECRIS引出特性的影响规律, 分析了其中的机理. 实验结果表明: 保持输入微波功率、气体流量、引出电压不变时, 增大共振区的范围、减小共振区到栅极的距离, 离子源能引出更大的离子电流; 减小共振区到微波功率入口、气体入口的距离能降低维持离子源高状态所需的最小微波功率和最小气体流量, 提高气体利用率, 但会导致放电损耗增大. 研究结果有助于深化对此类离子源工作过程的认识, 为其设计和性能优化提供参考.     

Observations of resonant modes formation in microwave generated magnetized plasmas

Ion sources have a significant number of applications in accelerator facilities and in industrial applications. In particular, the electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECRIS) are nowadays the most effective devices that can feed particle accelerators in a continuous and reliable way, providing high current beams of low and medium charge state ions and lower, but still remarkable, beam current for highly charged ions. In recent years several experiments have shown that the current, the charge states and even the beam shape change by slightly varying the microwave frequency (the so-called frequency tuning effect – FTE). The theoretical explanation of these results is based on the difference in the electromagnetic field pattern over the resonance surface, i.e. that region where the electrons resonantly interact with the incoming wave. In order to be consistent with the experiments, this model requires that standing waves are formed also in presence of a dense plasma. The proof was sought by means of a series of measurements performed with a network analyzer and with a plasma reactor operating at 2.45 GHz, according to the principles of the microwave discharge ion sources (MDIS). The measurements have been carried out with the aim to achieve the electromagnetic characterization of the plasma chamber in terms of possible excited resonant modes with and without plasma, and they reported that resonant modes are excited inside the cavity even in presence of a dense plasma. It was observed that the plasma dynamics strongly depends on the structure of the standing waves that are generated. The measurement of the eigen-frequencies' shifts were carried out for several values of pressure and RF power, thus linking the shift with the plasma density measured by a Langmuir probe. The changes in plasma shape, density and electron temperature have been also monitored for different operating conditions. A strong variation of plasma properties has been observed as a consequence of the introduction of the Langmuir probe inside the resonant cavity, thus demonstrating that the standing wave can be strongly perturbed even by means of relatively small metallic electrodes. The measurements reported hereinafter are relevant also for ECRIS, because they confirm the validity of the theoretical model that describes the frequency tuning.     

AISHa mechanical study and commissioning

ABSTRACT

The ion sources for accelerators devoted to medical applications must provide intense ion beams, with high reproducibility, stability and brightness. AISHa (Advanced Ion Source for Hadron therapy) is a compact ECRIS whose hybrid magnetic system consists of a permanent Halbach-type hexapole magnet and a set of independently energized superconducting coils. These coils will be enclosed in a compact cryostat with two cryocoolers for LHe-free operation. The AISHa ion source has been designed by taking into account the typical requirements of hospital-based facilities, where the minimization of the mean time between failures (MTBF) is a key point together with the maintenance operations which should be fast and easy. It is a multipurpose device, operating at 18?GHz, in order to achieve higher plasma densities able to provide enough versatility for future needs of the hadron therapy, including the ability to run at larger microwave power to produce different species and highly charged ion beams. In this paper, the innovative solutions, used for the plasma containment chamber and for the permanent magnet hexapole holder, are presented to solve the insulation and structural issues. The choice of the different materials used is hereinafter discussed together with all the involved processes (spinning, curing and machining). The glass fibers and carbon fibers are used to reinforce polymer matrices and give rise to structural composites and composites by molding. The paper shows also some results of ion source commissioning along with next developments. Innovative active coupling techniques are planned to be tested to optimize the first pass wave absorption, which plays an important role in the coupling optimization of the new-generation ECRIS.     

微型电子回旋共振离子推力器离子源结构优化实验研究

微型电子回旋共振(ECR)离子推力器可满足微小航天器空间探测的推进需求. 为此, 本文开展直径20 mm的微型ECR离子源结构优化实验研究. 根据放电室内静磁场和ECR谐振区的分布特点, 研究不同微波耦合输入位置对离子源性能的影响, 结果表明环形天线处在高于ECR谐振强度的强磁场区域时, 微波与等离子体实现无损耦合, 电子共振加热效果显著, 引出离子束流较大. 根据放电室电磁截止特性, 结合微波电场计算, 研究放电容积对离子源性能的影响, 实验表明过长或过短的腔体长度会导致引出离子束流下降甚至等离子体熄灭. 经优化后离子源性能测试表明, 在入射微波功率2.1 W、氩气流量14.9 μg/s下, 可引出离子束流5.4 mA, 气体放电损耗和利用率分别为389 W/A和15%.     

Microwave power coupling with electron cyclotron resonance plasma using Langmuir probe

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma was produced at 2.45 GHz using 200–750 W microwave power. The plasma was produced from argon gas at a pressure of 2 × 10^???4 mbar. Three water-cooled solenoid coils were used to satisfy the ECR resonant conditions inside the plasma chamber. The basic parameters of plasma, such as electron density, electron temperature, floating potential, and plasma potential, were evaluated using the current–voltage curve using a Langmuir probe. The effect of microwave power coupling to the plasma was studied by varying the microwave power. It was observed that the optimum coupling to the plasma was obtained for ~ 600 W microwave power with an average electron density of ~ 6 × 10¹¹ cm^???3 and average electron temperature of ~ 9 eV.     

A study of density in electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma

A theory is developed for the density profile of low temperature plasmas confined by applied magnetic field and an experiment of the electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma is conducted to compare the theoretical prediction and experimental measurements. Due to a large electron mobility along the magnetic field, electrons move quickly out of the system, leaving ions behind and building a space charge potential, which leads to the ambipolar diffusion of ions. In a steady-state condition, the plasma generation by ionization of neutral molecules is in balance with plasma loss due to the diffusion, leading to the electron temperature equation, which is expressed in terms of the plasma size, chamber pressure, and the ionization energy and cross section of neutrals. The power balance condition leads to the plasma density equation, which is also expressed in terms of the electron temperature, the input microwave power and the chamber pressure. It is shown that the plasma density increases, reaches its peak and decreases, as the chamber pressure increases from a small value (0.1 mTorr). These simple expressions of electron temperature and density provide a scaling law of ECR plasma in terms of system parameters. After carrying out an experimental observation, it is concluded that the theoretical predictions of the electron temperature and plasma density agree remarkably well with experimental data