Transport experiments of a 2.2 GeV gold ion beam in a plasma channel at the GSI-UNILAC facility

Charged particle beam transport in plasma channels is a well-established technique for electron and proton beams in the 1 MeV particle energy range. Experiments with heavy ion beams were started at the GSI-UNILAC accelerator facility to explore the applicability of this transport mode to heavy ion beam driven inertial confinement fusion. These experiments investigate the ion optics of a laser-initiated discharges. With the help of a TEA-CO/sub 2/ laser a discharge is initiated in low pressure (5 to 20 mbar) ammonia gas. A capacitor bank (1.33-8 /spl mu/F), charged up to 20 kV, is then triggered and a straight plasma channel is produced along the laser path. The current can be increase up to 45 kA. Fast shutter photography was used to study the stability of the channel. Magnetic field measurements were performed with dB/dt loops. The influence of the magnetic probe on the discharge was checked using an interferometer set-up. A 2.2 GeV gold ion beam was used to probe the ion optical properties of the channel.