Calculation of the ion distribution function and the rate at which components reach a collector for isotopically selective ion cyclotron resonant heating of an isotopic mixture

Plasma-phase isotope separation is a relatively recent research trend, which has not yet been realized in industrial devices. One of the most promising plasma techniques for separation is based on isotopically selective ion-cyclotron resonance (ICR) heating of the components of the mixture. A detailed design for an experimental device intended to separate metal isotopes by the ICR method was presnted. The main idea of the method is illustrated. A stream of collisionless plasma enters a heating zone within which ions of the target isotope M1+ are preferentially accelerated at the resonant frequency ωc1, as a result of which their transverse energy increases. A collector is located just past the heating zone, consisting of a system of thin plastes parallel to the direction of the flow and a magnetic field. The ions which have been heated up more are gathered up efficiently by the collector, while the cold ions pass through almost without interference. The actual separation principle is related to the difference in the collision frequencies of heated and unheated ions with the collector surface, which is determined by the ion energy distribution. In order to calculate the currents of the different ion species drawn by the collector plates it is therefore necessary to have information about the particle velocity distribution functions in the region where the collector is located. This paper discusses this calculation