OPTIMIZED EXTRACTION CONDITIONS FROM HIGH POWER-ECRIS BY DEDICATED DIELECTRIC STRUCTURES

Abstract The MD-method of enhancing the ion output from ECR ion sources is well established and basically works via two mechanisms, the regenerative injection of cold electrons from an emissive dielectric layer on the plasma chamber walls and via the cutting of compensating wall currents, which results in an improved ion extraction from the plasma. As this extraction from the plasma becomes a more and more challenging issue for modern ECRIS installations with high microwave power input, a series of experiments was carried out at the 14 GHz ECRIS of the Institut für Kernphysik in Frankfurt/Main, Germany (IKF). In contrast to our earlier work, in these experiments emphasis was put on the second of the above mechanisms namely to influence the sheath potential at the extraction by structures with special dielectric properties. Two different types of dielectric structures, Tantalum-oxide and Aluminium oxide (the latter also being used for the MD-method) with contrastingly different electrical properties were mounted on the extraction electrode of the IKF-ECRIS, facing the plasma. For both structures an increase of the extracted ion beam currents for middle and high charge states by 60-80 % was observed. The method is able to be applied also to other ECR ion sources for increasing the extracted ion beam performances