Extraction experiments at the UNIST electron beam ion trap for highly charged ion studies

Abstract

Highly charged ions (HCIs) are currently utilized in numerous fundamental and applied sciences, including astrophysics, dark matter search, optical clocks, semiconductor lithography, and quantum dot fabrication, to name just a few examples. At Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), a tabletop electron beam ion trap (EBIT) has been developed for creating and studying HCIs. The UNIST-EBIT compresses the electron beam by 72 permanent magnets (up to 0.84 T) and produces up to He-like Ar ions. The primary objective of the UNIST-EBIT is to obtain X-ray spectrum data essential in astrophysics. Meanwhile, optical clocks based on HCIs are receiving significant attention from the scientific community. The UNIST-EBIT can also provide various HCIs for optical clock applications. For this purpose, designing an extraction beamline along with an initial extraction experiment of Ar ions from the EBIT is underway. To extract Ar ions, we consider constructing an automatic control system with EPICS. In this work, we present the recent progress of the UNIST-EBIT for extraction experiments.