Challenge of cyclotron-based RI beam facility RIBF

Abstract

  Aimed to explore many unknown properties of unstable nuclei, RIKEN Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory began operation at the end of 2006 as the first of several next-generation RI beam facilities planned worldwide. RIBF is a cyclotron-based in-flight facility. One of the major technical challenges of RIBF accelerator complex is to operate stably the multi-step acceleration system including four cyclotrons in series. To date, the design intensity for light ions has been achieved, and the intensity of ⁴⁸Ca beams is steadily increasing. For very heavy ions such as uranium, a new injector system RILAC2 is now under construction to realize an increase in intensity of two orders of magnitude. The present status of RIBF is described with a historical background.