Improvements in targetry and high voltage stability for high resolution ion beam experiments

Abstract Ion beams with high energy resolution are valuable tools for the investigation of a wide range of phenomena in nuclear, atomic, and condensed matter physics. For the study of such effects, involving narrow nuclear resonances, the quality of the target is as important as the quality of the ion beam. Thus, an ultrahigh-vacuum system has been built including such characteristics as in situ target fabrication and variable target temperature. A number of improvements also were made to the newly installed 400 kV Munster accelerator to achieve better resolution for intense ion beams. The thick-target yield curves of narrow resonances in (p, γ) reactions on 23 Na, 26 Mg, and 27 Al nuclides show the Lewis effect clearly. These measurements as well as other resolution tests are discussed.