3. Update on Injector for Radioactive Ion Species 2 (IRIS2)
[B. A. Tatum, A.J. Mendez, spokespersons]

The IRIS2 Project completion date has been delayed until March 31, 2010, to allow additional time for documentation updates and new review requirements. In turn, this has delayed our ability to complete commissioning with radioactive beam.

From a technical perspective, the project continues to progress very well with most of the equipment installation and testing complete. Additional high voltage tests have been performed on the platform systems to identify and mitigate the effect of any remaining corona points. Handrails have been installed on both of the platform structures. The modular laser room has been installed, and laser safety system installation is nearing completion. Testing of the automated sequences of the remote handling system bridge crane has also been successfully completed, and we are now finalizing related procedures and lift plans.

As previously reported, both the injector and transport beamlines are fully assembled, tested and operational. In addition to the stable beam commissioning activities reported in the last newsletter, which focused on the setup of the 1st-stage mass separator, subsequent stable beam tuning exercises have been completed. A 2 μA, ⁴⁰Ar⁺ beam was accelerated off the platform to 200 keV and tuned to LERIBSS. The focus of the exercise was to maximize transmission rather than mass resolution, and it was highly successful: transmission from the object point of the 1st-stage separator to the 1st cup on beamline 12 was essentially 100%, to within the accuracy of the Faraday cup calibrations. To state it another way, there were essentially no losses in transport through the entire IRIS2 system, comprising both the injector and transport beamlines. Total transmission from IRIS2 to the LERIBSS Faraday cup was approximately 85%, 1.7 μA out of 2 μA, with virtually all of the loss coming between the image point of the isobar magnet (FC_12_3) and LERIBSS. This will likely improve with experience and time.