Mainz 2017 – scientific programme

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MS: Fachverband Massenspektrometrie

MS 3: Resonance Ionization MS and others

MS 3.2: Invited Talk

Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 11:30–12:00, RW 2

Developments and applications of the Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source at the CERN-ISOLDE facility — •Bruce Marsh — CERN, Geneva, Switzerland

The CERN-ISOLDE Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) Facility is at the forefront of fundamental and applied research related to the use of ion beams of artificially produced exotic isotopes.

Isotope purity - extracting a beam of ions with the desired combination of proton number (Z) and atomic mass (A) - is often an essential requirement. This is achieved by combining the element-selective process of multi-step laser resonance photo-ionization with mass-selective ion beam transmission using an electromagnetic dipole mass spectrometer. The ISOLDE Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS) comprises an array of industrial, scientific and custom made lasers (Nd:YAG, Ti:Sapphire and dye lasers) and is capable of selectively ionizing more than 35 different elements with efficiencies often exceeding 10%. In recent years state-of-the-art laser technologies and equipment monitoring and control systems have been implemented. These have increased the performance, reliability and capabilities of the RILIS, enabling its use for more than 75% of the ISOLDE experimental program.

In addition to its use as an efficient and selective ion source, the RILIS is itself a powerful spectroscopic tool for fundamental nuclear and atomic physics studies. Technical details and recent highlights of the various applications of the ISOLDE RILIS will be discussed.