Laser-cooled radioactive francium factory at CYRIC

Highlights: • Laser-cooled francium factory to search for the electric dipole moment of the electron. • Francium ion beam line was built and tested. • In pilot experiments using rubidium, the neutralization and trapping were achieved. -- Abstract: A factory of laser-cooled francium (Fr) atoms is being developed to search for the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron. The factory has achieved the production of Fr ions of 9×105 particles/s and transport with a transmission efficiency of 2%. In pilot experiments, the magneto-optical trapping of rubidium (Rb) has been performed using a new ion-to-atom converter. To achieve the Fr trap, the development and design of each of the factory's components are in progress