ISOLDE RILIS: New beams, new facilities

The resonance ionization laser ion source (RILIS) at the ISOLDE on-line isotope separator is based on the selective excitation of atomic transitions by tunable laser radiation. New ion beams have been produced with RILIS in recent years: Sb, Sc, Dy, Au, Hg and Po. In total, isotopes of 26 different elements have been selectively laser-ionized and separated at ISOLDE. In order to facilitate the work on development of atomic ionization schemes an off-line laser laboratory has been established at CERN. Operating independently of the on-line RI LIS setup, this laboratory will be capable of providing extensive data on atomic transitions, in particular between highly excited and auto-ionizing atomic states, which are required for the improvement of the RILIS efficiency. Additionally, the program gram of upgrading the on-line RI LIS system by the implementation of solid state lasers will be presented. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.