Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2012) 127: 136
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2012-12136-5

Regular Article

Characterization of Microwave Discharge Ion Source for high proton beam production

¹ INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud via S. Sofia 62, Via S. Sofia 62, 95123, Catania, Italy
² Università degli Studi di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Via S. Sofia 64, 95123, Catania, Italy

Received: 28 May 2012
Revised: 19 July 2012
Accepted: 5 October 2012
Published online: 19 November 2012

Abstract

The production of high-current beams is a key point for different applications and the importance ofthis role is deemed to increase in the coming years, both for industrial applications and for research projects. High-current and high-brightness H⁺ beams can be provided by 2.45GHz MDIS --Microwave Discharge Ion Sources--, which presents many advantages in terms of compactness, high reliability, ability to operate in CW mode or in pulsed mode, reproducibility, and low maintenance. A detail characterization of two MDIS, VIS and SILHI is reported here: for each source the most important parameterwas measured and analyzed. Special attention was paid to improve the performance of the source, increasing the electron density for a more efficient ionization; as a consequence, studies to optimize the extracted current have been carried out. A series of measurements have been realized with the VIS source by inserting a thick Al₂O₃ tube inside the plasma chamber (passive technique) and an innovative mechanisms of plasma ignition based on electrostatic waves (ESW) was proved with a plasma reactor.