CHEMICALLY SELECTIVE LASER ION-SOURCE OF MANGANESE

Ion beams produced by on-line isotope separators are often contaminate d by abundantly produced isobars. This significantly complicates, and in a number of cases readers impossible, the realization of physical e xperiments with such beams. In many cases the purity of the ion beams may be improved on the ionization stage of the isotope separation usin g a laser resonance ion source. The method of laser resonance ionizati on of atoms in a hot cavity has been applied for chemically selective production of Mn ion beams at the CERN-ISOEDE Facility. Radiation of p ulsed dye lasers and copper vapor lasers provided three-step excitatio n and ionization of Mn isotopes in the ordinary W surface ionizer, con nected to the target container. High values of efficiency and selectiv ity obtained with the laser ion source made it possible to suppress su bstantially an admixture of Fe-57 in the Mn-57 ion beam and to perform Mossbauer experiments on implanted impurities in solids.