The RIST project at ISIS

A description is given of the design of a target and ion source test facility, RIST, for the production of radioactive beams. A tantalum foil target will be bombarded by 800 MeV proton beams of up to 100 μA from the intense pulsed neutron source, ISIS. The radioactive particles will pass from the target to an ion source of the plasma of surface ionisation type. The resultant ion beams will be accelerated to 60 kV and passed through a 60 degrees magnetic mass separator to a nuclear detection system for unambiguous identification of the radioactive species. The system is similar to that of ISOLDE at CERN, and will be used to develop the technology of using high current proton beams to generate radioactive particles. This effort is part of a European and world-wide R ampersand D programme to produce a proposal for a radioactive beam accelerator