Gas breakdown in electron cyclotron resonance ion sources

The realization of the beta-beam project (http://beta-beam.web.cern.ch/beta-beam/) assumes the formation of a pulsed ion beam of helium and neon radioactive isotopes. A pulsed electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) source of multicharged ions has been proposed to produce such a beam [P. Sortais et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75, 1610 (2004)]. The rising of plasma density up to a stationary level must be fast enough to actualize this approach. This condition is mandatory to avoid particle losses in the transmission line. In the presented work, the rising time of the plasma density in an ECR ion source from a background level up to 98% of a stationary level is calculated. A zero-dimensional model of plasma formation in a mirror trap [V. Semenov et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73, 635 (2002)] is used, able to make calculation for a wide range of microwave frequencies. Plasma confinement regime can either be classic (Pastoukhov [Rev. Plasma Phys. 13, 203 (1987)]) or gas dynamic, depending on the plasma parameters. The calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results obtained at the SMIS'37 setup. Numerical calculations also show that particle losses can be significantly reduced by pumping effect; thanks to microwave frequency increase above 40 GHz. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.