In the study we report the features and ideal stable operating conditions of the ion source and the accelerator’s beam behavior of a nuclear microprobe at a laboratory for accelerator-based science (LABS) laboratory, i.e., iThemba LABS, South Africa. Since the aim is to improve the reliability and stability of ion beams used as a probe, we optimize the beam characteristics along the Van de Graaff accelerator from the ion source through the accelerator. Higher-order aberrations and non-ideal magnetic field profiles can induce complexities in beam deformation that are frequently missed by conventional first-order linear approximations. Moreover, the complicated nature and time commitment of trial-and-error methods make experimental adjustment alone inadequate. To accurately model and optimize the transport and focus characteristics of the ion beam, including effects from non-linear field components, dispersion, and alignment errors, a thorough mathematical framework is therefore required, backed by simulation tools such as TRANSPORT, TOSCA, and IGUN.
Eisa et al. (Sun,) studied this question.