An inductively heated hot cavity catcher laser ion source

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Atomic Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Production of exotic, neutron-deficient isotopes is crucial for nuclear structure studies.
• Existing methods for producing low-energy ion beams of such isotopes face limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate an inductively heated hot cavity catcher for producing low-energy ion beams of exotic silver isotopes.
• To characterize the diffusion and release properties of silver in graphite for optimizing ion beam production.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a heavy-ion cyclotron to implant primary silver ions into a graphite catcher.
• Employed resonant laser ionization with a three-step excitation scheme for selective ionization.
• Measured ion release time profiles and diffusion coefficients at various temperatures.
• Determined activation energy for silver diffusion in graphite.

Main Results:

• Successfully produced low-energy ion beams of exotic silver isotopes.
• Measured mean delay times for ion release ranging from 10 to 600 ms.
• Determined diffusion coefficients for silver in graphite at 1470 K, 1630 K, and 1720 K.
• Calculated an activation energy of 3.2 ± 0.3 eV for silver diffusion in graphite.

Conclusions:

• The inductively heated hot cavity catcher is effective for producing low-energy ion beams of exotic silver isotopes.
• The determined diffusion parameters provide essential data for optimizing the catcher's performance.
• This technique advances the study of neutron-deficient silver isotopes and related nuclear phenomena.