The use of lasers for the selective ionization of radionuclei for RIB generation

The method of laser resonance step-wise ionization of atoms is used for radioactive ion beams production. Two types of selective laser ion sources (LIS) are applied at on-line mass-separators: a buffer gas cell LIS and a hot cavity LIS. These sources provide both high selectivity and high efficiency of the ionization process. At the ISOLDE/CERN facility short-lived isotopes of Ag, Mn, Zn, Be, Ni, Cu were studied using a hot cavity LIS and a system of pulsed copper vapor and dye lasers. RIBs of a dozen different elements have been generated with the LIS technique, while such possibility exists for about 80% of the total number of chemical elements