Transmission of cluster ions through a tandem accelerator of several stripper gases

The transmissions of carbon cluster ion beams through a tandem accelerator using several stripper gases (He, N-2, CO2, and SF6) with a terminal voltage of 2.5 MV were measured as a function of the gas pressure in investigating the most suitable gas for cluster ion acceleration. This resulted in it being demonstrated that the highest transmission could be obtained using the smaller size gas, i.e., helium displayed the best performance of the four gases used. In addition, the ratio of transmissions of C-n with helium and nitrogen increased with increases in the n, thus revealing that helium gas should prove the most effective in larger cluster ion acceleration using the same energy. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3237243]