Transport and extraction of radioactive ions stopped in superfluid helium

A new approach to convert a high energy beam to a low energy one, which is essential for the next generation radioactive ion beam facilities, has been proposed and tested at Jyvaskyla, Finland. An open Ra-223 alpha-decay-recoil source has been used to produce radioactive ions in superfluid helium. The alpha spectra demonstrate that the recoiling Rn-219 ions have been extracted out of liquid helium. This first observation of the extraction of heavy positive ions across the superfluid helium surface was possible thanks to the high sensitivity of radioactivity detection. An efficiency of 36% was obtained for the ion extraction out of liquid helium. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights res…