An Experimental Technique for Separating Lithium Isotopes in Plasma Using the Ion Cyclotron Resonance Method

• Published in: Instruments and experimental techniques (New York) Vol. 62; no. 6; pp. 798 - 808
• Main Authors: Dolgolenko, D. A., Muromkin, Yu. A., Pashkovsky, V. G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01-11-2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Chemical elements; Cyclotron resonance; Depletion; Electrical Engineering; General Experimental Techniques; Ions; Isotope separation; Lithium isotopes; Measurement methods; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Organic chemistry; Physical Chemistry; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Plasma; Rotating plasmas
• ISSN: 0020-4412; 1608-3180
• DOI: 10.1134/S0020441219060058

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An experimental facility designed for separating lithium isotopes in plasma using the ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) method is described. High values of the lithium-isotope separation factor (α > 50) are attainable at the facility. A lithium-plasma source, the layout of cyclotron ion heating, and a collector system for lithium enriched and depleted with the
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Li isotope are described in detail. The methods used for measuring the parameters of the lithium plasma and the separation characteristics of the facility are also presented. The use of a “shadow,” i.e., a strip from the enriched-lithium collector without the lithium deposit on the depleted-lithium collector, for diagnostics of the plasma column rotation is noted. The projects for ICR facilities developed with our participation for separating isotopes of other chemical elements are briefly reported.