Design and optimisation of ECR and microwave ion sources for high efficiency ionisation and high intensity applications

Summary form only given. The most important developments in the field of ion sources at INFN-LNS, Catania, have been based on the generation of warm plasmas by means of microwaves at different frequencies. Different electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECRIS) and microwave discharge ion sources (MDIS) have been designed and built, at the operating frequency of 2.45, 10, 14, 18 and 28 GHz as well as at intermediate frequency by means of a travelling wave tube microwave amplifier. Three different 2.45 GHz microwave discharge ion sources have been built for different purposes, ranging from high efficiency ionization of light ions to high current proton beams production. A fourth multi-purpose compact 2.45 GHz microwave discharge sources, built with permanent magnets, is under construction. The optimization of microwave coupling to plasma has been addressed to improve the performances of such sources. The description of the methods will be carried out, along with a detailed discussion of the results