ABOUT THE ION BEAM LABORATORY

ANNUAL RESEARCH REPORT

The Ion Beam Laboratory (IBL) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison houses an NEC 1.7 MV tandem accelerator. The accelerator is actively used for research aimed at advancing the science of radiation damage of materials including alloys, ceramics, and coatings. The accelerator is equipped with TORVIS and SNICS ion sources for enhanced capabilities and the temperature of the samples is monitored by thermocouples and IR cameras. The systems are equipped with three beamlines with three chambers currently for different purposes of irradiations and in-situ measurements. The facility’s capabilities are continually improved to meet the research needs of the scientific community involved in research on radiation damage of materials and other fundamental materials science research areas involving ion irradiation.

UW-Madison can also offer neutron irradiation, find more https://reactor.engr.wisc.edu/

Rastered or defocused beam can be used for the irradiation.

Two ion sources can be used for different purposes and ions irradiaitons.

TORVIS                                                                                                                                                                                                                            High current hydrogen, deuterium, and helium ions, from < 1 μA to 100 μA for protons (H⁺ ions).                                                      Emulate neutron irradiation effect with proton irradiation.                                                                                                                            Damage rate ~ 10^-6 dpa/s                                                                                                                                                                                            Flat damage/depth profile

SNICS                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Wide range of heavy ions, Fe, Si, C, V, Nd, and more.                                                                                                                                            Fast to achieve high damage, e.g., 250 dpa peak damage of stainless steels in 9 hours.                                                                          Damage rate 10^-4-10^-2 dpa/s                                                                                                                                                                                        No radiation-induced radioactivity.

IBL is an integral part of the Nuclear Scientific User Facility (NSUF). We strongly encourage collaborations with other universities and institutions for ion irradiation experiments through the NSUF proposal process http://nsuf.inl.gov.

Capabilities of the UW-Madison ion beam accelerator

Parameter	Chamber l	Chamber II (new)	Chamber III (new)
Temp Range: Protons	400°C-1200°C	-150°C-1100°C	RT currently
Temp Range: Heavy lons	50°C-950°C	-150°1000°C	RT currently
Temp Fluctuations	±30°C	±5℃	RT
Temp.control	2 thermocouples + IR camera	3 thermocouples + IR camera	2 thermocouples
Flux Range, Protons	5e12-2e14	1e11-2e15	1e11-2e15
Flux Range, Heavy lons	3e12-4e13	4e10-6e14	4e10-6e14
Irradiation Area Range	1.5-2.3cm2	0.1-6cm2	0.1-6cm2
Vacuum	7e-7 Torr	1e-8 Torr	1e-8 Torr
In-situ analysis	Electronic measurement(new)	RBS, NRA, PIXE	2D movement and rotation
Sample size	2.3 cm2	1.5 cm2	225cm2