Ion-source and LEBT issues with the front-end systems for the Spallation Neutron Source

The Front-End Systems (FES) of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) project are being built by Berkeley Lab and will deliver a pulsed 40-mA H{sup -} ion beam at 2.5 MeV energy to the subsequent Drift-Tube Linac. The FES accelerator components comprise an rf driven, volume-production, cesium-enhanced, multi-cusp Ion Source; an electrostatic Low-Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) that includes provisions for transverse focusing, steering, and beam chopping; an RFQ accelerator; and a Medium-Energy Beam Transport (MEBT) line. The challenges for Ion Source and LEBT design are the generation of a plasma suitable for creating the required high H{sup -} ion density, lifetime of the rf antenna at 6% duty factor, removal of the parasitic electron population from the extracted negative ions, and emittance conservation. The paper discusses these issues in detail and highlights key experimental results obtained so far