The Blast Polarized H/d Target

The Bates Large Acceptance Spectrometer Toroid (BLAST)¹ is a detector designed to study the spin dependent electromagnetic response of few-body nuclei at momentum transfers up to 1 (GeV/c)². The strength of the experiment lies in its unique combination of large acceptance spectrometer, highly polarized electron beam, and dilution free internal gas targets. The Atomic Beam Source (ABS)^2,3 which operated in the NIKHEF AmPS electron ring throughout the 1990's was delivered to Bates to be installed in the BLAST experiment. The ABS at Bates will be able to deliver a polarized hydrogen or deuterium target. The high magnetic field of the toroid magnet of up to 0.18Tin at the location of the ABS demands a redesign of crucial components of the ABS to ensure high performance. We report on recent developments on the ABS target and the future setup within the BLAST spectrometer.