New Be-cathode preparation method for the ETH 6 MV Tandem

A new Be-10-cathode preparation method for the ETH 6 MV Tandem facility was developed. The method uses a mixture of Fe and Ag as sample matrix instead of the commonly used metals Cu or Ag. The performance of the Fe/Ag matrix was tested and compared to samples in Cu and Ag matrices under routine operating conditions. The results show that for samples containing 100 and 200 mu g Be carrier, the apparent ion source efficiency is 1.5 times higher for the Fe/Ag matrix compared to samples prepared with Ag or Cu. The results also suggest that the optimal molar Fe/Be mixing ratio is between 1 and 2. With the current setup for Be-10, a detection efficiency (detected Be-10 atoms vs. Be-10 atoms in the sample holder) of (3-4) x 10(-4) is reached after 20 min with the new Fe/Ag preparation method. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.