PLASMA AS A HIGH-CHARGE-STATE PROJECTILE STRIPPING MEDIUM

The classical trajectory Monte Carlo model has been used to computationally study the charge-state distributions that result from interactions between a high-energy, multielectron projectile and neutral and fully ionized targets. These studies are designed to determine the properties of a plasma for producing highly stripped ions as a possible alternative to gas and foil strippers that are commonly used to enhance the charge states of energetic ion beams. The results of these studies clearly show that a low-atomic-number, highly ionized plasma can yield higher charge states than a neutral target of the same density. The effect is principally attributable to the reduction in the number of available electron-capture channels. In this article, we compare the charge-state distributions that result during passage of a 20-MeV Pb projectile through neutral gas and fully ionized (singly charged) plasma strippers and estimate the effects of multiple scattering on the quality of the beam.