The RIB production target for the SPES project

Facilities making use of the Isotope Separator On-Line (ISOL) method for the production of Radioactive Ion Beams (RIB) attract interest because they can be used for nuclear structure and reaction studies, astrophysics research and interdisciplinary applications. The ISOL technique is based on the fast release of the nuclear reaction products from the chosen target material together with their ionization into short-lived nuclei beams. Within this context, the SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) facility is now under construction in Italy at INFN-LNL (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare — Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro). The SPES facility will produce RIBs mainly from n-rich isotopes obtained by a 40 MeV cyclotron proton beam (200 μA) directly impinging on a uranium carbide multi-foil fission target. The aim of this work is to describe and update, from a comprehensive point of view, the most important results obtained by the analysis of the on-line behavior of the SPES production target assembly. In particular an improved target configuration has been studied by comparing different codes and physics models: the thermal analyses and the isotope production are re-evaluated. Then some consequent radioprotection aspects, which are essential for the installation and operation of the facility, are presented

EURISOL High Power Targets

Modern Nuclear Physics requires access to higher yields of rare isotopes, that relies on further development of the In-flight and Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) production methods. The limits of the In-Flight method will be applied via the next generation facilities FAIR in Germany, RIKEN in Japan and RIBF in the USA. The ISOL method will be explored at facilities including ISAC-TRIUMF in Canada, SPIRAL-2 in France, SPES in Italy, ISOLDE at CERN and eventually at the very ambitious multi-MW EURISOL facility. ISOL and in-flight facilities are complementary entities. While in-flight facilities excel in the production of very short lived radioisotopes independently of their chemical nature, ISOL facilities provide high Radioisotope Beam (RIB) intensities and excellent beam quality for 70 elements. Both production schemes are opening vast and rich fields of nuclear physics research. In this article we will introduce the targets planned for the EURISOL facility and highlight some of the technical and safety challenges that are being addressed. The EURISOL Radioactive Ion Beam production relies on three 100 kW target stations and a 4 MW converter target station, and aims at producing orders of magnitude higher intensities of approximately one thousand different radioisotopes currently available, and to give access to new rare isotopes. As an illustrative example of its potential, beam intensities of the order of 1013 132Sn ions pe r second will be available from EURISOL, providing ideal primary beams for further fragmentation or fusion reactions studies

Analysis of relevant technical issues and deficiencies of the existing sensors and related initiatives currently set and working in marine environment. New generation technologies for cost-effective sensors

The last decade has seen significant growth in the field of sensor networks, which are currently collecting large amounts of environmental data. This data needs to be collected, processed, stored and made available for analysis and interpretation in a manner which is meaningful and accessible to end users and stakeholders with a range of requirements, including government agencies, environmental agencies, the research community, industry users and the public. The COMMONSENSE project aims to develop and provide cost-effective, multi-functional innovative sensors to perform reliable in-situ measurements in the marine environment. The sensors will be easily usable across several platforms, and will focus on key parameters including eutrophication, heavy metal contaminants, marine litter (microplastics) and underwater noise descriptors of the MSFD. The aims of Tasks 2.1 and 2.2 which comprise the work of this deliverable are: • To obtain a comprehensive understanding and an up-to-date state of the art of existing sensors. • To provide a working basis on “new generation” technologies in order to develop cost-effective sensors suitable for large-scale production. This deliverable will consist of an analysis of state-of-the-art solutions for the different sensors and data platforms related with COMMONSENSE project. An analysis of relevant technical issues and deficiencies of existing sensors and related initiatives currently set and working in marine environment will be performed. Existing solutions will be studied to determine the main limitations to be considered during novel sensor developments in further WP’s. Objectives & Rationale The objectives of deliverable 2.1 are: • To create a solid and robust basis for finding cheaper and innovative ways of gathering data. This is preparatory for the activities in other WPs: for WP4 (Transversal Sensor development and Sensor Integration), for WP(5-8) (Novel Sensors) to develop cost-effective sensors suitable for large-scale production, reducing costs of data collection (compared to commercially available sensors), increasing data access availability for WP9 (Field testing) when the deployment of new sensors will be drawn and then realized

Portable flow multiplexing device for continuous, in situ biodetection of environmental contaminants

A compact, low-cost and low-powered device was developed and arranged for multiplexed biodetection of sea water contaminants from continuous flow mode. Electronics, mechanics and fluidics were designed to guarantee identical functional liquid flow through eight parallel sensor microchambers during a predetermined time period providing 8 values at the same time. The accuracy and repeatability of the device was tested in-lab, achieving a deviation of less than 10% when measuring the same analyte in all the chambers. The experimental results obtained with our device were finally compared with those measured in continuous flux by a commercial potentiostat SP150 (Bio-Logic Science Instruments), obtaining identical results, which validated the proposed device

Study, Development and Optimization of Laser Resonant Photo-Ionization processes applied to species of interest for the Isolpharm-SPES project

The principle of resonance laser photo-ionization is used to selectively ionize elements of interest in isotope separation online (ISOL) facilities. The work presents the study of two-step resonance photo-ionization of silver atoms in the context of selective production of exotic species (SPES) at INFN-LNL. Using a hot ablation plume of silver atoms in a time of flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS), Doppler-suppressed and Doppler-broadened resonance frequency profile of the transition steps. It is shown that a Doppler-suppressed resonance profile can be achieved in a two-step resonant transition by introducing an angular separation as low as 8.5° between the two resonant laser beams. In the case of collinear injection of these laser beams, Doppler broadening is observed and the effect of the laser linewidth in a Doppler-broadened resonance profile is also studied. A silver hollow cathode lamp has also been used to study the same resonant transitions. Two kinds of opto-galvanic signals i.e. slow signal and fast signal are used to detect the resonance in this case. Using the hollow cathode lamp, strong evidence of high-lying Rydberg states of silver around the energy value of 7.56 eV (60945.32 cm$^{-1}$). First-time characterization of the SPES laser ion source (LIS) at ISOLDE Offline 2 is also presented. The SPES-LIS is a hot tubular tantalum cavity inside which laser beams with frequencies tuned to the electronic transitions of particular elements are made to interact with the vapor of the element. Important parameters such as thermal stability of the ion source, time structure of the ion beam, laser enhancement of the ion yield, and resonance laser ionization efficiency have been measured in relation to the production of the gallium ion beam. The effect of the electrostatic axial field on the movement of the ions along the length of the ion source is discussed. The dependence of the laser enhancement of the ion yield on the ion source temperature and the total ion current has been studied too. At a high ion source temperature of 2200°C, the laser enhancement of the ion yield at different total ion currents is found relatively stable compared to lower ion source temperatures. A new TOF-MS has been designed and assembled in the online laser lab at the SPES facility. Two independent sources of atomic beam viz. an effusion cell and an ablation target system, are employed in the system. This new TOF-MS should aid in scheme developments for the photo-ionization of several elements and also provide the geometry for high-resolution laser resonant spectrometry

Radioactive ion beam opportunities at the new FRAISE facility of INFN-LNS

At the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud of INFN (INFN-LNS) in Catania, the construction of the new Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs) facility FRAISE (FRAgment In-flight SEparator) has reached its ending phase. The facility uses the in-flight technique based on a primary beam fragmentation impinging on light Be or C targets. FRAISE makes use of light and medium mass primary beams, having power up to asymptotic to 2-3 kW, leading to RIBs, whose intensities vary in the range of asymptotic to 10(3)-10(7) pps, for nuclei far from and close to the stability valley, respectively. FRAISE aims at providing high-intensity and high-quality RIBs for nuclear physics experiments, also serving to interdisciplinary research areas, such as medical physics. Critical aspects for high-quality beams are the tuning and transport, representing time-consuming processes and requiring dedicated diagnostics and tagging devices measuring many features of RIBs. Some of these devices should be capable to operate in radioactively activated environments because of the expected 2 kW beam lost in the dipole after the production target. Due to its peculiar robustness to radioactive damage, Silicon Carbide (SiC) technology has been considered for the detection layer. In this view, an R & D campaign has been started aiming at developing the FRAISE facility, the new diagnostics system, and a new tagging device, the latter of which will be useful for the CHIMERA multidetector beamline. In this paper, we discuss the status and the perspectives of the facility with a focus on the RIBs opportunities

Final report of the EURISOL Design Study (2005-2009) A Design Study for a European Isotope-Separation-On-Line Radioactive Ion Beam Facility

European Commission Contract N°515768 RIDS Published by GANI

Design and development of the target-ion source system for the SPES project

The most important project of LNL (National Laboratory of Legnaro), one of the four Laboratory of INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics), is the SPES project, now at the construction phase. The aim of this new facility is to produce Radioactive Ion Beams in the neutron rich side of the so-called “valley of stability”. This is a very challenging project since it requires a lot of knowledge and studies from physical, chemical, engineering points of view. The core of the facility is a uranium carbide target mantained at high temperature (above 2000°C) which produces by fission radioactive atoms by means of an energetic and powerful proton beam. In this thesis, both the target and some of the most delicate devices which have to be installed inside the SPES bunker where the nuclear reactions occur are presented. In particular, the design phase of the target and the tests performed at iThemba LABS in South Africa will be presented, as the design of all the diagnostics that have to be installed to safely manage and control the production of the radioactive beams. Finally, the design phases and tests of the Wien Filter used as the preliminary mass separator to decrease the unwanted radioactivity along the beam line will be showed