LEBIT II: Upgrades and developments for high precision Penning trap mass measurements with rare isotopes

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 2013-12, Vol.317, p.510-516
• Main Authors: Redshaw, M., Bollen, G., Bustabad, S., Kwiatkowski, A.A., Lincoln, D.L., Novario, S.J., Ringle, R., Schwarz, S., Valverde, A.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cyclotrons; Ion beams; Isotopes; Mass spectrometry; Nuclear physics; Penning trap; Rare isotopes; Stability; Superconductivity; Valleys
• ISSN: 0168-583X; 1872-9584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2013.08.013

•Development and implementation of new experimental techniques at the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL).•Development of a laser ablation ion source for the production of carbon clusters for use as mass references and stable isotopes for offline mass measurement programs.•Implementation of stored waveform inverse Fourier transform (SWIFT) for efficient removal of contaminant ions.•Development of a miniature Penning trap to be installed in the LEBIT magnet and used as a magnetometer for monitoring temporal variations in the magnetic field strength.•Development of a new 7T single-ion Penning trap (SIPT) at the NSCL that will use image charge detection for ultra-high sensitivity measurements of short-lived rare isotopes with very low production rates. During the next several years and decades the extension of high-precision Penning trap mass spectrometry measurements to more-exotic isotopes, lying far from the valley of stability will continue to provide significant contributions to nuclear physics. However, such measurements must overcome the challenges of working with isotopes that have low production rates and short lifetimes. At the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, a number of developments have been implemented or are underway to meet these challenges by minimizing rare-isotope preparation and measurement time, maximizing use of available beam time, and increasing sensitivity. These developments and the current status of the LEBIT facility will be discussed.