Development of francium atomic beam for the search of the electron electric dipole moment

For the measurement of the electron electric dipole moment using Fr atoms, a Fr ion-atom conversion is one of the most critical process. An ion-atom converter based on the “orthotropic” type of Fr source has been developed. This converter is able to convert a few keV Fr ion beam to a thermal atomic beam using a cycle of the surface ionization and neutralization. In this article, the development of the converter is reported.