Milestone toward an electron cyclotron resonance ion plasma accelerator demonstrator.

Abstract

The electron cyclotron resonance ion plasma accelerator (ECRIPAC) is an original accelerator concept proposed in the 1990s for the generation of highly energetic pulsed ion beams, suitable for a wide array of applications. The initial studies on the subject were characterized by an important calculation mistake, leading to incomplete and erroneous literature on the topic. Nevertheless, the simple and well-mastered techniques involved in the system (radio frequency and magnetic field), together with the device compactness, are strong motivations for further studies on the ECRIPAC. This Letter proposes a comprehensive introduction to ECRIPAC physics, including a summary of its corrected theory. The designs of several compact demonstrator devices, able to accelerate different ion species to energies up to 100 MeV, are presented. Particular focus is devoted to a He^{2+} accelerator, capable of generating 9.5-MeV/nucleon ions inside a 1.8-m-long accelerating cavity. This device has been simulated using a Monte Carlo (MC) code, developed to model the electron dynamics inside this system. The MC results show excellent agreement with the updated theory, which validates the new theoretical framework of the ECRIPAC. Finally, some estimations for the beam parameters of the ion bunch extracted from the accelerator are provided.