Frequency upgrading of the superconducting ECR ion source SERSE

The installation of the superconducting ECR ion source SERSE at LNS and its commissioning have been successfully accomplished during last year. The problems related to LHe supply and high voltage insulation have been solved and the source is now fully operational with currents that are equal or greater than any other already operating ECR ion source. Recently the upgrading to higher field and frequency (from 14.5 GHz to 18 GHz) has been carried out, in order to increase further the plasma density and then the beam currents. The preliminary results of the study of magnetic field scaling are reported, along with the experimental evidence of the “two frequency heating” (14.5 and 18 GHz), according to the experience of LBNL source. The source is going to be coupled to the K-800 Superconducting Cyclotron and it will allow a significant increase of the intensity (one to two order of magnitude) and of the energy of the extracted beams, with respect to the injection of beams from 15 MV Tandem, used up to now