Integrated Modeling of ECR Charge Breeder Ion Sources

The production of high-quality, high-charge-state ion beams is an area of intensive research and development worldwide for particle accelerators, atomic physics studies, and industrial applications. In nuclear physics research, the use of radioactive ions with extreme proton-to-neutron ratios provides insight into the synthesis of new elements and the discovery of rare nuclei. The use of electron cyclotron resonance ion sources to generate multiply charged ions reduces the cost to produce radioactive ion beams, by decreasing the accelerating voltage needed to achieve the desired beam energy. However, there is currently no numerical tool that can simulate all stages of the production a highly charged ion beam with one of these sources. This project will develop a simulation tool that integrates numerical models for each of the three interlinked steps in the production of highly charged ion beams: the capture of singly charged radioactive ions, the breeding of highly charged ions, and the extraction of the beam from the source. Linking the three models would ensure self-consistency of the overall numerical simulation. In Phase I, an innovative particle-in-cloud-of-points code was developed to simulate extraction of the ion beam from the source. Models of singly-charged ion capture and charge breeding were developed and linked under a separate Phase II SBIR grant. In Phase II of this project, the particle-in-cloud-of-points code will be enhanced to simulate three-dimensional (3D) particle distributions. The code also will be linked to existing ion capture and charge breeding codes to create an integrated, 3D, self-consistent numerical tool for simulating the production of highly charged ion beams. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: An integrated, self-consistent numerical tool for simulating the production of highly charged ion beams should reduce the cost of building sources of highly charged ions and improve the efficiency of both radioactive ion beam facilities and industrial applications that use highly charged ions.