Radio-frequency waveform investigation for ion transport within the RFQcb at ISOLDE's Offline 2 facility

A theoretical and practical investigation into the relation of applied waveform, voltage, and frequency of the quadrupole potential applied to the Radio-Frequency Quadrupole cooler and buncher (RFQcb) used at the ISOLDE facility and the Offline 2 facility. Non-radioactive ion beams were transported through the RFQcb over a range of quadrupole parameters to quantify beam transport efficiency via pre and post beam current measurements. Maximum beam transport was directly compared to the theoretical model of ion stability within an oscillatory quadrupolar field via the solutions of the Hill's equation (shown within this work) for each waveform applied the RFQcb and over several masses 20Ne, 40Ar, 84Kr and 131Xe. The result of this work has led to interesting findings on the beam transport dependency with the waveform, the potential to reduce the overall costs of future RFQ's, and possible molecular capture break-up options inside RFQcb structure. (paper)