Initial Experimental Results of Producing Multicharged Ions Efficiently by Lower Hybrid Resonance Heating with Exciting Helicon Waves on Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source

Abstract

Based on experimental results, we considered the accessibility conditions for wave propagation in the magnetized plasma in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source (ECRIS), and proposed introducing electromagnetic waves with frequencies lower than those of ECR. We generate the lower hybrid resonance (LHR) in the ECRIS by the electric field of the extra-ordinary mode (X-mode) on the helicon wave which additionally heat the electrons, and then it was conducted to improve the efficiency of multicharged ion generation successfully in over density condition. The electron energy distribution function obtained by the probe measurement shows an increase in the high-energy region in the corresponding LHR region. In this paper, for the first time we describe the initial experimental results on enhanced production of multicharged ions by the LHR of the low-frequency RF electromagnetic waves into the ECRIS.