Shape optimization of a wall-stabilized plasma lens

Summary  The idea of optimizing the shape of a wire wall-stabilized plasma lens for final focusing of ion beams has been considered for the first time. A theoretical analysis of the properties of such a lens has been developed, showing that the “ideal” focusing properties of wire lenses are preserved. The focusing performance of the optimized lens has been numerically evaluated with a code especially developed for the purpose. Considerable increase of focusing efficiency is predicted, since it is theoretically possible to obtain the same focal spot size with a factor of four less current. First experimental results, confirming the improvement, are shown.