Ion Beam Laboratory

About

The Ion Beam laboratory of IOP consists of a NEC model 9SDH-2 tandem pelletron accelerator that can deliver positive ion beams in the energy range of 1-12MeV. The maximum terminal voltage is 3MV and can be set anywhere between 0.5-3.0MV as per requirement.
The accelerator is equipped with two negative ion sources Alphatross and MC-SNICS. Alphatross is exclusively used for producing He- ions whereas MC-SNICS is used for producing all other types of negative ions. Commonly used ion beams are that of H, He, Li, C, Si, Cu, Ag, Au.
55keV negative ions are injected into the accelerator. At the high voltage terminal, the negative ions lose electrons due to collisions with Argon gas atoms and are ejected as positive ions with high energies. The beam currents on target range from a few nano-Amperes to a few tens of nano-Amperes.
The accelerator facility is being used for studies that require IBA techniques such as RBS, ion-channeling, PIXE etc. The facility is also being used for ion-implantation and irradiation studies. Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of radiocarbon is another important feature of IBL.

Information to users

Beam schedule is prepared monthly and circulated to the users on 1st of every month. Alphatross ion-source is used for RBS runs. RBS runs are scheduled if there are at least 5-6 requests from the users for beam time.

Note to external users

Users interested to perform experiments using 3 MV Tandem Accelerator are expected to be able to setup their own experiment and collect data. If they cannot, then they may contact any internal user of IOP for help during their run before booking the beam time.
Availability of accommodation at IOP guest house will restrict the availability of beam time to the external users. All the external users are requested to confirm their participation immediately after receiving the beam schedule for the month. They should also send the names of the participants along with arrival/departure dates at the earliest for booking accommodation.

Use Of Facility

To use any of the facility, one should fill the “Beam Time Requisition Form” and submit it on-line/ through e-mail. Beam schedule is prepared monthly and circulated to the users on 1st of every month. Alphatross ion-source is used for RBS runs. RBS runs are scheduled if there are at least 5-6 requests from the users for beam time. Users interested to perform experiments are expected to be able to setup their own experiment and collect data.