A cesium-sputtering negative ion source for AMS investigations

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) requires ion sources delivering intense negative ion beams of high stability. At the Lund 3 MV Pelletron tandem accelerator a new Cs-sputtering source has therefore been constructed and installed. The source is equipped with a mechanism for automatically cracking the cesium galss ampoule inside the oven when the source is evacuated. The source is also equipped with a multiple sample holder which permits on-line sample changing without disrupting the operation of the electrostatic accelerator. In order to maximise the negative ion beam current the sample holder has a mechanism for moving the sample relative to the cesium beam. By doing this the lifetime of the samples can be increased.