Fundamental investigations in the field of plasma physics on the ion production in sources of negative hydrogen ions for particle accelerators

• Applicant: Dr. Stefan Briefi
• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
• Term: from 2014 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 259180596

Up to now, the optimization of negative hydrogen ion sources for particle accelerators is mainly based on an empirical approach. The direct influence of the operational parameters or of individual components of the ion source on the discharge parameters of the hydrogen plasma is not considered, mainly due to the difficulties arising from accessing the sources with diagnostics. However, future accelerator experiments impose very high demands on the ion sources. In order to enable a dedicated optimization of the ion sources a detailed investigation of the discharge parameters and their influence on the negative hydrogen ion production is mandatory. This task is going to be covered by this proposed project, where a systematic analysis of the production and destruction processes of negative hydrogen ions and their dependence on the discharge parameters will be carried out. The insights gained from these fundamental investigations are going to be applied to the optimization of the Linac4 ion source at CERN which demanded ion current is not reached by any existing source up to now. It should be stated that the relevance of the investigations performed within this project is not limited to the Linac4 ion source. The insights gained from both the fundamental and the application-oriented investigations are of high importance for the world-wide development of the next generation of negative hydrogen ion sources.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Participating Person: Dr. Jacques Lettry