Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T07:25:53.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

CO2 laser ion source: Comparison between mode-locked and free-running laser beams

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 May 2002

N. LISI
Affiliation:
CERN PS Division, CH-1211 Geneve 23, Switzerland Present address: ENEA Casaccia, PO Box 2400, 00100 Roma, Italy
C. MEYER
Affiliation:
CERN PS Division, CH-1211 Geneve 23, Switzerland
R. SCRIVENS
Affiliation:
CERN PS Division, CH-1211 Geneve 23, Switzerland

Abstract

The production of highly charged ions in a CO2 laser-generated plasma is compared for different laser pulse-time structures. The work was performed at the CERN Laser Ion Source, which has the aim of developing a high current, high charge-state ion source for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). When an intense laser pulse is focused onto a high-Z metal target, the ions expanding in the plasma plume are suitable for extraction from the plasma and matching into a synchrotron. For the first time, a comparison is made between free-running pulses with randomly fluctuating intensity, and mode-locked pulse trains with a reproducible structure and the same energy. Despite the lower power density with respect to the mode-locked pulse train, the free-running pulse provides higher charge states and higher yield.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)