88-inch Cyclotron 

The 88-Inch Cyclotron at Berkeley Lab, built in the late 1950s, represents a critical facility for nuclear physics research and superheavy element discovery. This particle accelerator creates ion beams, injects them into the cyclotron, where they are accelerated to 10-20% of the speed of light, and directs them toward experimental targets for groundbreaking research. 

The 88-Inch Cyclotron: Facility and Operations

Building and Infrastructure

The 88-Inch Cyclotron facility requires massive radiation shielding for all their equipment, including 4-foot-thick concrete walls, due to the intense radiation produced when the cyclotron accelerates particles. The facility can accelerate various particles including protons, hydrogen, and uranium ions. 

Cyclotron Operations and Beam Control

The main magnet controls how much the beam turns when it's in the magnetic field, directing particle beams into different experimental slots throughout the facility. Focusing magnets bend and guide the accelerated particles with precision. The facility conducts extensive testing of microelectronics components to evaluate how they will withstand space radiation, ensuring parts destined for space missions can survive the harsh radiation environment. 

Ion Source Systems

Above the cyclotron, different generations of Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) ion sources operate to create the particle beams. Scientists purchase powder materials and place them in small holders positioned between electromagnetic coils. When electric current passes through the coils, it heats the material to extremely high temperatures, causing it to boil off and vaporize. Microwaves are then shot at the vaporized material, exciting the atoms and stripping electrons to create highly charged ions that are injected into the cyclotron for acceleration. The VENUS ion source must stay cold while generating high-energy beams, but the biggest challenge is effectively transferring the material to the input area, where extremely high temperatures are required for boiling.