A study of on-line gas cell processes at IGISOL

Abstract The laser ion source at the IGISOL facility, Jyvaskyla, has been used to study the effects of the passage of a primary beam through an ion guide via the dynamic time profiles of yttrium and related molecular compounds. The accessibility of a neutral fraction for laser ionization is shown to be restricted to the nozzle region in the presence of a weak plasma. The survival of this neutral fraction cannot be explained by recombination of the buffer gas alone and perhaps indicates a suppression of the transport of ions due to a plasma-generated electric field. The concept of a competition between the processes that create and destroy the ion of interest is used to explain the different…