INFN/LNL, Legnaro
ITEP, Moscow
The positive ion injector for the PIAVE-ALPI complex consists of an ECR ion source placed on a high voltage platform. A 14.4 GHz ECRIS named Alice, designed and constructed at LNL in the early &##8216;90, reliably delivered gaseous beams to the Superconducting RFQ PIAVE for nuclear physics experiments until 2008. The requests for heavy ion beams of increased current and energy, needed to perform the experiments planned for the next years with the AGATA demonstrator, prompted us to upgrade our injector with a new ECR source capable of higher output beam currents and higher charge states. This activity started in 2008 and was completed at the beginning of 2009. A 14.5 GHz, SUPERNANOGAN type ECRIS built by Pantechnik, was installed in our refurbished high voltage platform in July 2008. The space available for maintenance in the platform was increased and a new lead shielding for X-rays has been set up. The water cooling circuits have been redesigned to deliver different fluxes and inlet pressures to the equipment mounted on the platform (plasma chamber, extraction electrodes, bending dipole and power supply). A new safety system has been implemented in order to cope with new and more demanding safety rules. A lot of attention has been paid to the optimisation of the injection line with new diagnostic devices for beam characterisation (movable slits, emittance measurement tools). Commissioning of the new source and injector with beams has started and first results will be reported.
INFN/LNL, Legnaro
PIAVE-ALPI is the INFN-LNL superconducting heavy ion linac, composed by an SRFQ (superconducting RFQ) section and three QWR sections for a total of 80 cavities installed and an equivalent voltage exceeding 70 MV. In the last years the SRFQ and the bulk niobium QWR came into routine operation, the medium energy QWR section was upgraded with a new Nb sputtered coating, ECR source was firstly improved by using water cooled plasma chamber and then replaced with a new one. The operation of the accelerator complex allowed acquiring a strong experience on many operational issues related to ECRIS, superconducting cavities and cryogenics, beam control and manipulation (with the new and higher accelerating gradient). The paper reports about operational experience, the present limitations and the future perspectives of the facility in view of the experimental campaign with the EU detector AGATA and of the use of PIAVE ALPI as RIB post-accelerator for SPES radioactive ion beam facility.
