Milestone toward an ECRIPAC accelerator demonstrator

TL;DR

This paper advances the ECRIPAC ion accelerator concept by correcting previous theoretical errors, designing compact demonstrators capable of reaching 100 MeV, and validating the models with Monte Carlo simulations.

Contribution

It provides a corrected theoretical framework, designs for new demonstrator devices, and simulation validation for the ECRIPAC accelerator concept.

Findings

Monte Carlo simulations agree with the corrected theory.

Designed a He2+ accelerator capable of 9.5 MeV/nucleon.

Validated the potential for compact, high-energy ion beams.

Abstract

The Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Plasma ACcelerator (ECRIPAC) is an original accelerator concept proposed in the nineties for the generation of highly energetic pulsed ion beams, suitable for a wide array of applications. The initial studies on the subject were characterized by an important calculation mistake, leading to an incomplete and erroneous literature on the topic. Nevertheless, the simple and well mastered techniques involved in the system (radio frequency and magnetic field), together with the device compactness, are strong motivations for further studies on ECRIPAC. This work proposes a comprehensive introduction to the ECRIPAC accelerator physics, including a summary of its corrected theory. The designs of several compact demonstrator devices, able to accelerate different ion species to energies up to 100 MeV, are presented. A particular focus is devoted to a He2+ accelerator, capable of generating 9.5 MeV/nucleon ions inside a 1.8 m long accelerating cavity. This device has been simulated using a Monte-Carlo (MC) code, developed to model the electron dynamics inside this system. The MC results show an excellent agreement with the updated theory, which validates the new theoretical framework of ECRIPAC. Finally, some estimations for the beam parameters of the ion bunch extracted from the accelerator are provided.