RECENT DEVELOPMENTS FOR METALLIC ION PRODUCTION AT THE NATIONAL SUPERCONDUCTING CYCLOTRON LABORATORY

This article describes studies performed on the National Superconducti ng Cyclotron Laboratory's Superconducting-ECR (electron cyclotron reso nance) ion source for the production of metallic ion beams. The Room T emperature-ECR ion source as the workhorse for generating metallic ion beams using a solid feed system will be superceded in the future by t he Superconducting-ECR ion source. A series of tests were carried out with a Langmuir probe introduced axially into the plasma chamber of th e Superconducting-ECR ion source. These tests determined the location and shape of the plasma and its floating potential. The results presen ted show the effect of source bias and axial magnetic field on the pla sma boundary. Some preliminary results for gold sputtering are also in cluded. The use of a solid metal, saturated in deuterium, to produce d euterium beams in the Room Temperature-ECR ion source has also been st udied. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.