Dual Chamber Laser Ion Source at Lisol

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel dual chamber laser ion source at LISOL that enhances isotope beam purity by separating stopping and ionization regions, enabling improved selectivity and electrical purification.

Contribution

The paper presents a new dual chamber design for laser ion sources, significantly increasing selectivity and enabling electrical purification of radioactive isotope beams.

Findings

Selectivity increased by over an order of magnitude.

Separation of stopping and ionization regions improves beam purity.

Electrical fields enable further ion purification.

Abstract

A new type of the gas cell for the resonance ionization laser ion source at the Leuven Isotope Separator On Line (LISOL) has been developed and tested at off-line and on-line conditions. Two-step selective laser ionization is applied to produce purified beams of radioactive isotopes. The selectivity of the ion source has been increased by more than one order of magnitude by separation of the stopping and laser ionization regions. This allows to use electrical fields for further ion purification.