LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN ECR CHARGE BREEDERS

The basic principles of the ECR charge state breeder (CSB) are recalled, special attention is paid to the critical parameters allowing the optimization of the ECR charge breeders characteristics (efficiency yield, charge breeding time, capture potential deltaV). An overview is given on the present ECR charge breeders situation and results worldwide. Possible means to increase the 1+ ion beam capture for light ions is presented. In the context of radioactive environment, possible technological improvements and/or simplifications are suggested to facilitate the maintenance and to reduce the human intervention time in case of a subsystem failure