The utilization of gyrotrons in the field of ECR ion sources for accelerators, first results and perspectives

The ongoing projects of heavy ion accelerators, like LHC at CERN and GSI in Darmstadt, will require high intensity ion beams, ≈1emA, of heavy elements like Pb²⁷⁺. The electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECRIS) are good candidates to deliver such beams. Now they reach the domain of multi-tesla magnetic fields and they can be realized almost only by superconducting windings. Correspondingly the RF generators that can supply these ECRIS are gyrotrons in the 28-37 GHz frequency range, powerful enough to ionize and to heat up the large ECRIS plasmas. The first ECRIS operation at 28 GHz by using a gyrotron, which is reported in this article, was carried out on the superconducting device SERSE. Other ECRIS projects of this new generation are now under way, and will be also presented together with their expected performances.