Development of a niobium multicharged ion beamline

A laser-driven multicharged ion beamline has been developed, incorporating electrostatic components for acceleration, beam shaping, focusing, and selection by ion charge and energy per charge. A 10 ns, 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, operated at a fluence of 68 J/cm2, ablates a Nb target to generate a plasma from which ions are extracted and accelerated. After ion acceleration, a five-element electrostatic lens is used to reduce the beam size and collimate the ion beam, thereby maximizing ion transmission through subsequent beamline components. A 90° cylindrical electrostatic ion energy analyzer is used to select ions within a specific energy per charge range. Further analysis of ion energy per charge is conducted using a three-grid retarding field analyzer. Ion signals are detected via time-of-flight measurements using a Faraday cup. Ion charge selection is achieved using a pair of pulsed deflection plates. The ions are subsequently focused by two einzel lenses, one to reduce the beam size and the other to further focus the beam. Ion pulses of Nb3+ to Nb8+, containing approximately 107 to 108 ions per each ion charge, were measured at the Faraday cup location, with ion counts decreasing as the charge state increased. This ion beamline enables ion acceleration, beam shaping, and the selection of charge states and energy ranges, supporting applications such as ion deposition and implantation