The new 6 MV tandem accelerator at HZDR

Recently, a new 6 MV tandem accelerator was put into operation at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf.
The accelerator is dedicated for non-destructive spatial- and depth-resolved analysis using ion beam techniques as well as for materials modification via high energy ion implantation. Additionally this opens a new field of research at HZDR - accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS).

The system is based on a medium current 6 MV-TandetronTM manufactured by High Voltage Engineering Europe (HVEE).
It operates via a Dynamitron type high voltage generator providing the terminal voltage 0.3 – 6.6 MV with high stability.
The accelerator has two separate ion injection systems. The multipurpose ion injector (MPI) with a Cs-sputter ion source and a He-duoplasmatron is dedicated to ion beam analysis and high energy ion implantation. A second injector used exclusively for AMS purposes consists of two Cs-sputter ion sources combined with a multi-cathode sample wheel.

The high energy mass spectrometer includes 90°-analysing magnet, electro¬static analyser, vertical 30° magnet and gas ionisation detector. The AMS facility is applied for precise measurements of radio-nuclides like 10Be, 26Al, 36Cl, 41Ca, and 129I with ultimative sensitivity.

The interconnecting beam-line con¬nects the new accelerator with the existing IBA equipment of the old 5 MV tandem accelerator taken out of operation in end of 2010. This equip¬ment is used for RBS, ERD (including high resolution ERD), PIXE/ PIGE, NRA and IBA with external protons beam.

High-energy ion implantation or irradiations can be performed at two different endstations. One of them is equipped with an automatic wafer-handling system allowing irradiation of samples with size up to 20 cm x 20 cm which is routinely applied for industrial services.