Status of Radioactive Ion Beam Post-Acceleration at CERN-ISOLDE

The HIE-ISOLDE project* (High Intensity and Energy ISOLDE) reached an important milestone in September 2016 when the first physics run was carried out with radioactive beams at 6 MV/m. This is the first stage in the upgrade of the REX post-accelerator, whereby the energy of the radioactive ion beams was increased from 3 to 5.5 MeV per nucleon. The facility will ultimately be equipped with four high-beta cryomodule that will accelerate the beams up to 10 MeV per nucleon for the heaviest isotopes available at ISOLDE. The first 2 cryomodules of the new linac, hosting each five superconducting cavities and one solenoid, were commissioned in August 2016. Besides demonstrating the experimental capabilities of the facility, this successful first run validated the technical choices of the HIE ISOLDE team and provided a fitting reward for eight years of rigorous R&D efforts. At the start of 2018, HIE-ISOLDE is expected to complete the energy upgrade, reaching 10 MeV/u and becoming an attractive facility for a wide variety of experiments. This contribution will focus on the results of the commissioning and on the main technical issues that were highlighted.