Published March 2006 | Version v1
Journal article

Francium sources at Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro: Design and performance

  • 1. Dipartimento di Fisica and INFN, 44100 Ferrara (Italy)
  • 2. Dipartimento di Fisica and INFN, 56127 Pisa (Italy)
  • 3. Dipartimento di Fisica and INFN, 53100 Siena (Italy)
  • 4. INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, 35020 Legnaro PD (Italy)

Description

A facility for the production of radioactive francium is operating at the laboratories of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Legnaro, Italy. The goal is to collect a cold sample of radioactive atoms in a magneto-optical trap for studies in atomic, nuclear, and particle physics. Production of francium is achieved via the fusion-evaporation reaction 197Au(18O,kn)215-kFr generated by a ∼100-MeV 18O6+ beam on a thick gold target. The production target is heated to ∼1200 K and kept at a potential of +3 kV to enhance Fr diffusion and surface desorption. Average production rates are 0.7x106 ions/s for 210Fr with a primary beam flux of 1012 particles/s, with peaks of 2x106 ions/s. Details are given on the design and construction of the production targets and on the measurements that characterize their performance

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Review of Scientific Instruments
Journal Volume
77
Journal Issue
3
Journal Page Range
p. 03A701-03A7013
ISSN
0034-6748
CODEN
RSINAK

Conference

Title
11. international conference on ion sources
Dates
12-16 Sep 2005
Place
Caen (France)

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2006 American Institute of Physics