A Plasma Ion Source for ISOLTRAP

In this report, my work testing the new Penning ion source as a summer student at ISOLTRAP is described. The project was composed of three stages: (1) Setting up a test laboratory in building 275, (2) characterizing the ion source, and (3) implementing and testing the source in the ISOLTRAP setup. After setting up the test laboratory, the ion source was tested in a constant pressure environment with produced ion currents in the range of nA . An extensive scan of the source ion current versus operating parameters (pressure, voltage) was performed. A setup with pulsed gas flow was also tested, allowing a reduction of the gas load on the vacuum system. The behavior of the ion source together with the ISOLTRAP setup was also investigated, allowing to understand current limitations and future directions of improvement.