Simulation studies of the laser ablation ion source at the SHIPTRAP setup

A gas-filled miniature Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (mini-RFQ) was recently implemented into the SHIPTRAP laser ablation ion source to thermalize the laser-ablated ions and thus improve production efficiency as well as sample preparation. This source provides reference ions of various elements for online experiments with the SHIPTRAP mass spectrometer. In addition, it can be used to provide long-lived rare and radioactive isotopes available only in small sample sizes for high-precision mass measurements or to study systematic uncertainties. The performance of the laser ablation ion source was simulated using the COMSOL Multiphysics modeling software package. These studies indicate that a revised mechanical geometry and an optimized RF field improve the performance significantly.