Pulsed Beam Injector

Na channel (injector system) and Low Energy Magnet

The new pulsed beam injector has been installed and characterized for the existing 5 MV linear accelerator. The ions are produced in the newly installed Model 358 sources, which can generate ion beams of H, D, ³He, and ⁴He with currents 4 to 10 times greater than those of the original system’s sources.

Fig.1: Schematic of the new injector obtained from the ARGUS control program

This ion beam enters the Chopper-Buncher system, a combined system that periodically deflects the beam (Chopper) and compresses the pulse by slowing down the ions that enter first and accelerating the last ones (Buncher). A schematic of this process is shown in Figure 2. It also accepts external pulse settings via function generator.

Fig.2: Schematic of the modifications undergone by the beam along its path

These ion packets (with approximately 3 ns FWHM, see Figure 3), referred to as pulses, are injected into the accelerator, resulting in an accelerated and pulsed ion beam at the various experimental stations.

Fig.3: Representation and parameters of the pulsed measured with the fast Faraday Cup at the implantation line experimental station during the initial characterization tests

This type of beam enables new studies that were previously unfeasible at the facility in fields such as radiobiology, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and materials science.