High-current plasma lens; New results and applications

Influence of spherical and momentum aberrations of the electrostatic plasma lens (PL) on the intense ion beam focusing and maximal compression is investigated experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that when spherical aberrations are absent unavoidable momentum aberrations affect the radial profile of multicharged ion beams. This profile appeared to be steplike. PL electric potential radial profile providing transformation of unhomogeneous (Gauss) profile of a beam at the PL entrance to homogeneous one on the target on the given distance from PL is obtained analytically. High-current PL efficiency for compensated ion beam setting on the quasi-Brillouin orbit is demonstrated to be experimentally and theoretically substantiated. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.