Eur. Phys. J. A (2009) 42: 509-515
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2009-10830-6

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

A hot cavity laser ion source at IGISOL

¹ Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35 (YFL), FI-40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
² AG Larissa/Quantum, Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Staudinger Weg 7, D-55128, Mainz, Germany

^* e-mail: mikael.h.t.reponen@jyu.fi

Received: 8 December 2008
Revised: 23 March 2009
Accepted: 21 May 2009
Published online: 17 June 2009

Abstract

A development program is underway at the IGISOL (Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line) facility, University of Jyväskylä, to efficiently and selectively produce low-energy radioactive ion beams of silver isotopes and isomers, with a particular interest in N = Z ⁹⁴Ag . A hot cavity ion source has been installed, based on the FEBIAD (Forced Electron Beam Induced Arc Discharge) technique, combined with a titanium:sapphire laser system for selective laser ionization. The silver recoils produced via the heavy-ion fusion-evaporation reaction, ⁴⁰Ca(⁵⁸Ni, p3n)⁹⁴Ag , are stopped in a graphite catcher, diffused, extracted and subsequently ionized using a three-step laser ionization scheme. The performance of the different components of the hot cavity laser ion source is discussed and initial results using stable ^{107, 109}Ag are presented.