Short intense ion pulses for materials and warm dense matter research

TL;DR

This paper reports on the development and initial experiments of intense, short ion pulses for materials science and warm dense matter research, utilizing advanced beam compression and neutralization techniques at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for generating ultra-short, high-intensity ion pulses with mm-scale focus using neutralized drift compression and solenoid focusing.

Findings

Achieved < 2 ns FWHM pulse duration with ~10^10 ions per pulse.

Successfully demonstrated beam neutralization and compression techniques.

Performed initial time-resolved ionoluminescence measurements on yttrium aluminium perovskite.

Abstract

We have commenced experiments with intense short pulses of ion beams on the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-II at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, by generating beam spots size with radius r < 1 mm within 2 ns FWHM and approximately 10^10 ions/pulse. To enable the short pulse durations and mm-scale focal spot radii, the 1.2 MeV Li+ ion beam is neutralized in a 1.6-meter drift compression section located after the last accelerator magnet. An 8-Tesla short focal length solenoid compresses the beam in the presence of the large volume plasma near the end of this section before the target. The scientific topics to be explored are warm dense matter, the dynamics of radiation damage in materials, and intense beam and beam-plasma physics including selected topics of relevance to the development of heavy-ion drivers for inertial fusion energy. Here we describe the accelerator commissioning and time-resolved ionoluminescence measurements of yttrium aluminium perovskite using the fully integrated accelerator and neutralized drift compression components.