Characterizing In-Source Molecular Ion Beam Development at ISOLDE

The ISOLDE facility at CERN specializes in producing radioactive ion beams to aid in ongoing research of the nuclear landscape. In the ISOLDE Offline 2 laboratory, a more accurate mass scan calibration, which identifies the type and number of ions in a beam, was generated using a noble gas mixture and a plasma ion source. Laser effects were studied on atomic and molecular ions produced by a barium sample with carbon tetrafluoride gas and a surface ion source. Effects of heating, ablation, dissociation, and ionization from the laser source were characterized and demonstrated graphically using the barium and barium fluoride ion currents with 355 and 532 nm wavelength laser light.