In-beam production and transport of radioactive [sup 17]F at ATLAS

Beam currents of radioactive {sup 17}F(T{sub 1/2} = 65s) as high as 2 x 10{sup 6} s{sup {minus}1} have been produced at the ATLAS facility and delivered to target for nuclear physics research. The d({sup 16}O, {sup 17}F)n and p({sup 17}O,{sup 17}F)n reaction were used to produce the {sup 17}F in the energy range of 65-110 MeV with {sup 17}F intensities of up to 250 pnA. The target employed is a liquid nitrogen cooled H{sub 2} gas cell, with HAVAR windows, operating at up to 8 x 10{sup 4} Pa pressure. A new beam optics geometry consisting of a superconducting solenoid immediately after the production target followed by a single superconducting resonator has significantly improved the total capture efficiency of the transport system. The superconducting solenoid captures the highly divergent secondary beam and refocuses it to improve the beam match into the remainder of the transport system. A single superconducting resonator then ''debunches'' the beam, reducing the energy spread by a factor of four. The beam energy can also be varied, using the resonant cavity, without changing the primary beam energy. Detailed discussion of the results, comparison to calculations, and further possible improvements will be presented.