Quantum seminar | 15 May 2024

An efficient method for the production of highly charged ions is proposed. The atomic ions are produced and confined in a local potential trap formed by the crossover of an electron beam in the vicinity of the focus of a thick magnetic lens, where the electron current density can reach extremely high values, which significantly exceed that for the Brillouin focusing of electron flow. The extraction of ions is carried out by transformation of the rippled electron beam into a smooth flow, where the local ion trap disappears. This method is realized in room-temperature hand-size devices, which are named Main Magnetic Focus Ion Sources. The most recent studies are performed in Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics at JINR in Dubna. The experiments demonstrate high efficiency of the novel ion source to produce ions of arbitrary elements in any charge states, in particular, of highly charged ions of heavy elements.