TEST EBIS Operation and Component Development for the RHIC EBIS

Most design goals of the BNL Test EBIS Project have been exceeded and we are confident that an EBIS meeting RHIC requirements can be built. Achieved parameters include 10 A electron beam current, ion charge state above Au32+, and greater than 55 nC total extracted ion charge. The Test EBIS utilizes the full electron beam power but has only half the trap length and operates at a reduced duty factor compared with an EBIS for RHIC, which would produce at least 85 nC total ion charge in 10–40 microsecond pulses, containing ~3 × 109 particles/pulse of Au32+ ions. Normalized rms emittance values for 1–3 mA extracted ion beams have been in the range of 0.08–0.1 pi mm mrad. Present development of the source is focused on establishing operational reliability and facilitating future upgrades in ion intensity and species, since the major emphasis is now on integrating the EBIS into a pre-injector facility, including an RFQ and linac. Recent progress towards this goal includes the following: (1) An IrCe electron gun cathode and modified anode have been installed in an electron gun chamber separable from the source ionization region by a gate valve. A very low loss 10 A, electron beam has been propagated with the new configuration, with 100 kW peak power dissipation at the electron collector. (2) A new electron collector power supply configuration has been tested which can lower the cost compared to our present setup, while improving the stability of the electron beam launch. This is an important first step towards placing the EBIS on a nominal 50 kV platform, necessary for efficient highly charged ion transport to the RFQ. (3) A hollow cathode ion source obtained from CEA Saclay, has been tested and is being installed. This will allow us to provide a variety of ion species to the RHIC and NASA Space Radiation Laboratory facilities, and is valuable at the present project stage for beamline development and emittance studies of heavy and light ion beams of highly charged ions from the EBIS. (4) An electron collector for RHIC has been designed which would allow operation exceeding 10 A electron beams at 100% duty factor. The RHIC collector design could allow upgrades to 300 kW electron beam power. (5) Controls for pulse to pulse switching and diagnostics for charge state and charge fraction verification have been developed.