Operation of 18GHz HTS ECRIS

and
LEBT on a 200kV High voltage
Platform

By
C. Namitha

under the guidance of

Dr. G. O. Rodrigues

at
IUAC ,New Delhi
Aruna Asaf Ali Marg-110067

1
 Acknowledgement

This Summer Programme conducted by Inter University

Accelerator Centre, New Delhi is a wonderful opportunity for
beginners like me in the field of science and research.

My heart-felt thanks to Dr.Subir Nath who organized this

programme without any hindrances and taking the effort of
arranging lab visits and expert talks on various subjects for us
which broadens our thinking and opens up new avenues of
research.

My sincere gratitude to Dr.G.O.Rodrigues for selecting me as his

intern, for letting me work on such an important system and
sharing his invaluable knowledge and experience.

I would like to extend warm gratitude to Mrs. P.S.Lakshmy for

teaching me all about the system so patiently and in the simplest
form that I may understand and guiding me for this project work. I
could never thank enough for all the time she spent for me.

I thank Dr.Sarvesh Kumar for teaching and guiding me with the

beam transport.

This project would not be possible without the presence of these

beautiful people of my life – my parents, friends and all the
members of IUAC.

2
Table of contents

 Introduction ……………………………………………….4

 Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources………..6

 High Temperature Superconducting

ECR ion source (PKDELIS) at IUAC…………………..12

 Low energy beam transport ………………………….16

 Source operation and beam tuning…………………20

 Study of source characteristics………………………24

 Conclusion…………………………………………………27

 References………………………………………………...28

3
1.Introduction

Through this project, I studied the operation of a high

temperature superconducting,18 GHz, Electron Cyclotron
Resonance Ion Source along with Low Energy Beam
Transportation on a high voltage (200kV) platform and its
characteristics.

This source and LEBT are part of the ongoing ‘High Current
Injector ‘ project. The beam enters the multi-harmonic
buncher after LEBT, the beam gets bunched and is sent to
the Radio Frequency Quadrupole for further acceleration
,then it enters the Drift Tube LINAC, finally the SC-LINAC. The
layout is shown in the figure below.

4
The objectives of the project are:-

 Nitrogen Plasma generation in ECRIS and extraction of

nitrogen ions.

 Transportation of ion beams through a low energy beam

transport (LEBT).

 Bunching of ion beams.

 Studying source characteristics.

An ion source is a device that creates atomic and molecular ions.

They can be broadly divided in terms of the nature of ion
produced, positive, negative and neutral. Further classification
can be based on the charge state of the ion.

Some of the different kinds of ion sources are: -

 Laser ion source: Plasma is formed by an intense pulsed

laser beam focused onto a solid target. These are primarily
used for particle accelerator injection in heavy ion
synchrotron.
 Vacuum arc ion source: It is a high current metal ion source.
 Microwave ion source
 ECR ion source
 Radio frequency driven source

The basic process that happens in any positive ion yielding source
is :-

5
e + A0 -→-→-→-→-→-→-→-→-→→ A+ + e- + e-

where the electron striking the neutral atom has an energy greater than
the ionization potential of A0.

Following are the features expected of an efficient ion source :

 Large ion yield

 High ionization efficiency

 Low ion energy spread

 High brightness

 Low emittance

 Long source life

 Ease of changing ion species

Ion sources have a wide range of applications like ion

implantation, in accelerators for nuclear research and fusion
research, in isotope separators, mass spectrometers etc .

2. Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion

Source
In ECRIS, the method of ionization employed is ‘Electron impact ‘. A min-
B configured ECRIS is in simple terms a metallic cavity filled with
low-pressure vapors, microwaves and magnetic field ‘B’ for
confinement of the plasma.

6
The major advantage of using ECRIS is that these short-lived
filaments and hot cathodes can be eliminated with long lived
electron emitter ‘Plasma’.

The other advantages of ECRIS compared to the rest of the ion

sources are: ions are confined, gas pressure is low and the energy
of the electrons can be adjusted by tuning of the ECR parameters.

Fig 2.1 shows a cross section view of the ECR ion source.

Fig. 2.1

2.1 ECR Plasma

As R. Geller, the father of ECRIS puts it, knowledge of Plasma

Physics is integral to the understanding of ECRIS. Plasma, in
simple terms is a state of matter consisting of electrons, ions and
neutral atoms. Existing abundantly in the universe, it is produced

7
in laboratories as well. Plasma is ever dynamic with all kinds of
phenomena possibly occurring in it.

The basic plasma parameters play an integral role in determining

the intrinsic properties of the ion beam. The parameters are :-

Particle density/Plasma density - Total density of ions, electrons

and neutral atoms in a plasma. Mostly charge neutrality is
maintained in a plasma i.e.,

∑QJnj=0

Fractional ionization- Ratio of ion density to the total density of

ions and neutral particles. Plasma is said to be highly ionized
(highly stripped ions) if the fractional ionization is greater than 10,

FI = n i/(ni+ne)

Particle temperature- Commonly expressed in (eV), it determines

the energy of the plasma and it is not necessary at all times for
the ion temperature to be equal to the electron temperature.

Lower the plasma temperature leads to a tighter (lower

emittance) beam.

Particle energy and velocity- The plasma energy is not just

determined by its temperature but also by energy due to bulk
mass flow (drift energy).

1/2mv2=3/2kT

8
vrms=√(3kT/m)

Collisions- λ(mean free path)= 1/nσ

where σ is the cross-section area. Further the collision time and frequency
can also be calculated which is an important parameter in determining
the cyclotron motion of the ions and electrons.

These affect the characteristics of the ion beam : -

 Beam composition is determined by the ion reservoir used.

 The ion charge state ‘Q’ is determined by the electron plasma
temperature , the ion lifetime and plasma density.
 Beam emittance by turbulence in the plasma , ion temperature and
magnetic field in the plasma chamber.
 Further beam properties depend on the Fractional Ionization.

2.2. Magnetic confinement

Magnetic field effect – Particles of plasma experience Lorentz

force due to magnetic field B applied.

F=eQv x B
(v|| x B|| =0 )

The particle moves in a circular motion with the perpendicular

component of velocity and the parallel component of velocity has
no interaction with the magnetic field. Hence the general
trajectory of the particle is helical.

The Lorentz force is equivalent to the centripetal force on the

particle.

F=mv2/r=qvB

9
 Gyro-radius(r)=mvp/eQB

Gyro-frequency(ωC)=qB/m

On simplification, fc=28B (GHz)

where B is in Tesla, vp is the perpendicular component of

velocity, m is the mass of the particle.

Plasma is confined by the magnetic field but it can diffuse through

the walls if the charge exchange occurs close to the walls of the
chamber. The particles are tied in their orbital motion around the
field lines and this provides a mean of confinement by increasing
the magnetic field strength at the ends (min-B configuration).This
magnetic geometry causes the particles to reflect back into the
central plasma region rather than getting lost. The perpendicular
velocity component keeps on increasing due t o the increasing
magnetic field, so energy is transferred from E (parallel) to E
(perpendicular). Finally,the parallel velocity is reduced to zero and
the particle reflects. Fig.2.2 shows the confinement of plasma.

Fig.2.2

10
Further, the situation can also be analyzed as the particle
experiences a force in a non-uniform magnetic field which is given
:-

F=μgradB

Where μ is the magnetic moment of the particle.

Note: The collision frequency has to be lower than the gyro-

frequency for both the electrons and ions for the gyromotion to
occur and hence confinement to take place.

2.3 ECR heating

The gyro-frequency of the electrons is one of the most important

parameter as the electrons are heated by coupling it with a
microwave source with the same frequency,creating a resonance
condition and hence maximum power transfer occurs to the
electrons thus increasing their energy and causing more energetic
electron-ion collisions which improves the stripping of ions.

If the frequency of the microwave is less than the critical

frequency, then the waves get reflected.

Ncrit=1.25 x 1010f2 (cm-3) where ‘f’ is in GHz.

Fig.2.3 shows the helical trajectory of the electron in the plasma.

11
Fig.2.3

2.4 Ion beam extraction

The extraction and initial acceleration of ions takes place through

a set-up as shown in Fig.2.4.Thus the ions come out with an
energy of E= eQ x VEXT. The extractor electrode, focus electrode
and puller electrode together form an einzel lens which helps in
focusing of the beam.

Fig.2.4

12
3. High Temperature Superconducting ECR
ion source (PKDELIS) at IUAC

It is a High Temperature Superconducting Electron Cyclotron

Resonance Ion Source (PKDELIS) designed to be operational at 14-
18 GHz (currently operated at 18GHz) on a High Voltage platform
of 200 kV within a temperature range of20-22 K (maintained by
single stage Gifford-McMahon type cryo-coolers). The high
temperature superconducting coils are made of BiSSCO-2223
which helps to reduce the need for more power, cooling (hence
cryogenic liquid) and electrodes, hence improved efficiency. The
coils are equipped with two independent cryostats. The critical
temperature of the superconducting coil is 110 K but it is
operated at 22-23 K. Fig.3.1 shows the Plasma chamber along
with the two cryostats.

Fig.3.1

13
The superconducting coils provide the axial magnetic
field(presently coil current is 120 A at injection end,70 A at
extraction side) and permanent magnets comprising of Nd, Fe and
B in hexapole configuration provide the radial magnetic field. The
net magnetic field in the cavity is such that there is maximum
field strength at the ends and minimum at the center which is
crucial to the magnetic confinement of ions (min-B configuration).
Better the confinement time more is the tendency to form
multiply charge state ions. Fig.3.2(a) and 3.2(b) show the axial
and radial magnetic field respectively.

Fig.3.2(a) Fig.3.2(b)

The plasma chamber is made of Aluminium so that the oxide

formation on it would yield more electrons and enhance the
secondary electron emission process. The microwaves (18 GHz)
are amplified at Klystron and enters the plasma chamber through
a waveguide. In the klystron, an electron beam interacts with
radio waves as it passes through resonant cavities. The energy of
the electron beam amplifies the signal and this output signal is
coupled back into the input cavity to make an electronic oscillator
to generate radio waves. The required gas is injected into the
plasma chamber through a control valve. A bias electrode is also

14
coupled to the source and the biasing potential is negative which
repels the electrons and hence enhances ionization.

The extraction system consists of the extractor electrode, puller

electrode and focus electrode. The extractor potential determines
the energy with which the ions will be extracted from the plasma
chamber. The puller electrode (polarized negative) enhances the
beam optics as it attracts the positive ions out of the plasma.

The fig.3.3 below shows the overall layout of the source and
transport line.

Fig.3.3

15
The source is designed to produce high current ion beams with
[(M/Q)<=7] which are required for the optimum functioning of the
Radio Frequency Quadrupole and further injection into the the SC-
LINAC.Ion beams of gases as well of solid metals(special
microwave oven and sputtering system used) can be generated in
this source.

Turbo molecular pumps are used to maintain vacuum in the

plasma chamber and transport line with scroll pumps as their
backup. High vacuum is maintained in the range of 10 -7 – 10-9
mbar. Fig3.4 is a picture of PKDELIS and LEBT on the HV platform.

16
 Fig.3.4

4. Low Energy Beam Transport system

The Low Energy Beam Transport consists of magnetic and

electrostatic quadrupoles, for focusing and magnification, Bending
(dipole) magnet and steering magnets for steering of beam and G
P tube where further acceleration takes place.

The transport line has faraday cups at requisite locations to block

the beam and measure the beam current and Beam Profile
Monitors to study the beam’s spread in the x and y planes ( z , the
central trajectory).

Further there is a multi-harmonic buncher to bunch the ion beam

and this pulsed beam is injected into the RFQ accelerator.
17
The major components used in the Low Energy Beam Transport
Line are:

 Electrostatic Quadrupole : An electrostatic quadrupole

is very similar to a magnetic quadrupole except for the
fact that a potential of V+ is applied on two opposite
poles and a potential V- on the other two. It’s working is
very much the same as given for magnetic quadrupoles
(in the next paragraph).

 Magnetic Quadrupole : It   is   a   strong   focusing   lens   .The

quadrupoles in the are of two types : 'F quadrupoles' (which
are   horizontally   focusing   but   vertically   defocusing)   and   'D
quadrupoles' (which are vertically focusing but horizontally
defocusing).   This   situation   is   due   to   the   laws   of
electromagnetism (the Maxwell equations) which show that
it is impossible for a quadrupole to focus in both planes at
the same time. So, triplet quadrupoles are used for point to
point focusing of the beam. A doublet quadrupole could be
used   for   focusing   and   magnification   (with   adequate   drift
spaces   between   them).   Fig.4.1   is   a   schematic   view   of   a
simple quadrupole magnet. 

Fig.4.1

18
 Steering magnets: These magnets are provided along
the pathway to make small corrections to electron
beam trajectories.

 Bending magnet (Analyzer): This magnet bends the

vertical beam into the horizontal direction (bending
angle ˜ 90o) .this makes the beam clean by providing
energy selection and thus filters and provides the
required ion beam. The magnetic field is calibrated to
obtain the right amount of energy of the needed ion
beam.

 Faraday Cup: A   Faraday   cup   is   a   metal   (conductive)   cup

designed to catch charged particles in vacuum. The resulting
current can be measured and used to determine the number
of ions or electrons hitting the cup.

When   a   beam   or   packet   of   ions   hits   the   metal   it   gains   a

small net charge while the ions are neutralized. The metal
can   then   be   discharged   to   measure   a   small   current
equivalent to the number of impinging ions. Essentially the
Faraday cup is part of a circuit where ions are the charge
carriers in vacuum and the faraday cup is the interface to
the solid metal where electrons act as the charge carriers(as
in   most   circuits).   By   measuring   the   electric   current   (the
number of electrons flowing through the circuit per second)
in the metal part of the circuit the number of charges being
carried by the ions in the vacuum part of the circuit can be
determined.   For   a   continuous   beam   of   ions   (each   with   a
single charge) where N is the number of ions observed in a

19
 time t (in seconds), I is the measured current (in amperes)
and e is the elementary charge.

 Beam Profile Monitor: A   helical   wire   on   a   rotary   drive

crosses   the   beam   vertically   and   then   horizontally   during
each revolution. A cylindrical collector around the grounded
wire   collects   beam­induced   secondary   electrons   from   the
wire to provide a signal proportional to the intercepted beam
intensity   at   every   instant.   The   picture   of     BPM   is   given
below(Fig.4.2)

Fig.4.2

 G P Tube: The beam is accelerated a maximum of 200kV as it

passes through the general purpose tube.

Further the beam is bunched by a Multi-Harmonic Buncher and it

goes into the Radio Frequency Quadrupole.

20
5. Source Operation and Beam tuning

Various parameters of the source and the beam transport line are
varied to obtain maximum beam current which is measured using
Faraday Cup and the beam size can be estimated using Beam
Profile Monitor.

The gas used is nitrogen. The source parameters like microwave

power, gas flow, bias voltage, microwave tuner position along
with the focus electrode voltage are optimized to extract
maximum beam current of N3+ and N4+. The extraction voltage is
25 KV in both the cases. The beam current is measured after the
analyzer magnet. The required beam is analyzed by setting the
magnetic field matching m/q.

The analyzer magnetic field is calculated from the formula,

B.r (Magnetic Rigidity) = 0.144√((m x E)/Q2)

B.r = 0.144√((m x V)/Q)

where ‘r’ is radius of curvature (=0.3 m in this case), ‘m’ is mass

in a.m.u , ‘E’ is energy in ‘MeV’ ,’Q’ is the charge state of the ion
considered.

Once the magnetic field and microwave power source are set at
the optimum values, other parameters like bias voltage, puller
voltage, gas pressure, magnetic steerers etc. are adjusted to tune
the beam and get maximum beam current and proper focusing .
The layout of the source and LEBT portray the devices which are
present along the beam line which have to be adjusted and there
are faraday cups after regular intervals to measure the current.

21
The source can produce both d.c beam and pulsed beam (with the
help of buncher). The HTS ECRIS and LEBT are placed on a high
voltage platform of 200 kV potential and the beam gets
accelerated twice along the way, once at the extraction region
due to the extraction potential and then at the G P tube (200 kV).

The source is operated in out gas mode. The charge state

distribution of oxygen present in the chamber is obtained for
microwave power of 800 W and 300W. Data is given in Table 5.1
and Table 5.2.

Table 5.1
Parameter Value

Extraction Voltage 25 kV

Focus electrode 14.46 kV

Puller electrode 0.18 kV

Microwave power 800 W

Reflected microwave Power 1.56 W

Bias voltage -60 V

Injection Pressure 2.7 X 10-6 mbar

Extraction Pressure 1.2 X 10-7 mbar

Analyzer Magnetic Field 0.09769 T

(scaled value)

Microwave Tuner Position 9.29

22
The analyzer magnetic field was varied from minimum to
maximum value and the spectrum obtained is given below. The
peaks observed pertain to particular charge state of oxygen ions.

Table 5.2
Parameter Value

Extraction Voltage 25 kV

Focus electrode 14.46 kV

Puller electrode 0.18 kV

Microwave power 300 W

Reflected microwave Power 1.56 W

Bias voltage -60 V

Injection Pressure 2.7 X 10-6 mbar

Extraction Pressure 1.2 X 10-7 mbar

Analyzer Magnetic Field 0.09769 T

(scaled value)

Microwave Tuner Position 9.29

23
 Fig.5.1(800 W)

O+
O2+

O3+

Fig.5.2(300 W)

24
6. Study of source characteristics
The gas pressure was varied, keeping the other parameters
constant. The variation in beam current is as plotted below :-

Fixed Parameter Value

Extraction Voltage 25 kV

Focus electrode 14.45

Puller electrode 0V

Microwave power 850 W

Bias voltage -120 V

Table 6.1

Injection Pressure(mbar) Beam Current(nA)

1.86 X 10-7 32.5

5.0 X 10-7 1470

2.06 X 10-6 4000

2.95 X 10-6 8400

3.39 X 10-6 10600

4.01 X 10-6 7900

4.37 X 10-6 4550

25
4.93X 10-6 2770

5.57 X 10-6 1230

7.04 X 10-6 191

1.21 X 10-5 1

It is observed that beam current reaches a maximum value at a

particular optimum pressure and then falls again. The possible
reasons for this could be the occurrence of charge exchange
phenomena due to the ion-neutral atom collisions increasing and
also the collision frequency would increase which can affect the
gyromotion of the electrons and ions.

Similarly, the Bias voltage is varied keeping other parameters

constant and the variation of beam current is noted.

26
 Table 6.2
Fixed Parameter Value

Extraction Voltage 25 kV

Focus electrode 14.82 kV

Puller electrode 0.18 kV

Microwave power 880 W

Injection Pressure 2.66 X 10-6

mbar

Extraction Pressure 9.37 X 10-8

mbar

The beam current increases with increase in bias potential

,reaches a maximum value at optimum bias voltage and then
drops.

27
6. Conclusion
The HTS ECRIS (PKDELIS) is an efficient source which can produce
beams of high charge state ions. After extraction, the beam is
transported through the low energy beam transport system with
minimum transmission loss and maintaining the profile as well.
The beam is accelerated by the extractor voltage and further at
the G P tube (200 kV) and then fed into the multi-harmonic
buncher which provides the pulsed input beam for the Radio
Frequency Quadrupole accelerator.

This source is a part of the High Current Injector (HCI) Project and
this accelerator facility will be used for research activities in the
field of nuclear physics, material science etc.

I have familiarized with the operation of the source and tuning the
beam through the beam transport line. Source is put in out gas
mode, with microwave power at 300 W and 800W respectively
and the charge state distribution in each case recorded. The
variation of extracted beam current with the injection side
pressure and bias voltage variation of the source is also studied.

28
7.References

 ‘The physics and technology of Ion Sources’ edited by Ian

G.Brown, Published by WILEY-CH

 NSC School on Accelerator Physics

 ‘ECR Ion Sources and ECR Plasma’ by R.Geller , Published by

Institute of Physics , Bristol and Philadelphia

 ‘The Physics and Technology of Ion Sources’ edited by Ian. G. Brown

 ‘ECR Ion sources and ECR Plasma’ by R. Geller

 ‘NSC School on Accelerator Physics’

 https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:47048458

 http://slideplayer.com/slide/4536379/15/images/12/Principle+of+the+E

R+Ion+Source.jpg

 https://accelconf.web.cern.ch/accelconf/a04/PAPERS/THP16056.PDF

 http://www.iuac.res.in/accel/hci/ecr/deck.jpg

 http://www.iuac.res.in/event/ijschool/16/DKanjilal.pdf

 https://accelconf.web.cern.ch/accelconf/ecris08/papers/mopo-17.pdf

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