Flux of high charge positive ions, how?

[Amy]

I need a flux of highly positive ions, at least penta-valent ions (5+ or more, 6+, 7+, ...);
there are ion sources that can generate a proton flux, but I need 5+ ions;
do you know how I can do that?

 

[mfb]

Heavy ion accelerators routinely do that, did you check how?

Typically they ionize the ions once, accelerate them, then let them fly through thin stripper foils to remove more electrons.

 

[davenn]

Typically they ionize the ions once, accelerate them, then let them fly through thin stripper foils to remove more electrons.

cool ... learn something new every day

after a little reading, this seems to be where the early term canal rays was coined.
tho I couldn't seem to find anything much with good details of the foil makeup and charge

I'm assuming the foil you are talking about has holes/slits in it ?
It would have to be positively charged so it could strip the electrons from the +ions ?
if so, does that last one pose problems with the interaction of + ions coming close to a + charged foil grating ?Dave

 

[mfb]

I'm assuming the foil you are talking about has holes/slits in it ?

Holes would be places where the ionization doesn't work. Holes would also mean you need the same vacuum conditions on both sides, which is often not wanted.

The foil does not need a positive charge. The approach works based on the huge size difference between electron orbitals and the nucleus. Many nuclei pass through without large scattering (->Rutherford experiment), most electrons do not.

Fully ionizing large atoms like lead for the LHC is done in multiple steps. The source provides Pb²⁷⁺ (55 electrons left), this is accelerated to 4 MeV per nucleon and shot through a stripper foil. While many charge states are produced, the most likely one is Pb⁵⁴⁺ (28 electrons left). This is accelerated to 6 GeV per nucleon and shot through another stripper foil, removing the remaining electrons.

 

[davenn]

Holes would be places where the ionization doesn't work. Holes would also mean you need the same vacuum conditions on both sides, which is often not wanted.

The foil does not need a positive charge. The approach works based on the huge size difference between electron orbitals and the nucleus. Many nuclei pass through without large scattering (->Rutherford experiment), most electrons do not.

Fully ionizing large atoms like lead for the LHC is done in multiple steps. The source provides Pb²⁷⁺ (55 electrons left), this is accelerated to 4 MeV per nucleon and shot through a stripper foil. While many charge states are produced, the most likely one is Pb⁵⁴⁺ (28 electrons left). This is accelerated to 6 GeV per nucleon and shot through another stripper foil, removing the remaining electrons.

Thanks for that