Summer student project report - A versatile ion source for improving the sensitivity and resolution of the CRIS beamline at ISOLDE

The main part of my project involved working on the independent ion source attached to the collinear resonance ionisation spectroscopy experiment at ISOLDE. The primary aim was to increase the maximum accelerating potential from 5 kV to 30 kV, to become comparable to ion beams from the ISOLDE High Resolution Separator and to improve the resolution of hyperfine structure measurements. The new ion source allows for easy exchange between surface and plasma ion sources, as well as use as a laser ion source. The work included disassembling and rebuilding the ion optics, electronics and vacuum systems, adding new features such as a laser window. This was done in parallel with simulations of other parts of the beamline and in- volvement in online experiments. We were successful in reaching 30 kV and plan to produce beams of ions in the near future to investigate the sensitivity of various ionisation schemes.