Blurring the boundaries between ion sources: The application of the RILIS inside a FEBIAD type ion source at ISOLDE

For the first time, the laser resonance photo-ionization technique has been applied inside a FEBIAD-type ion source at an ISOL facility. This was achieved by combining the ISOLDE RILIS with the ISOLDE variant of the FEBIAD ion source (the VADIS) in a series of off-line and on-line tests at CERN. The immediate applications of these developments include the coupling of the RILIS with molten targets at ISOLDE and the introduction of two new modes of FEBIAD operation: an element selective RILIS mode and a RILIS+VADIS mode for increased efficiency compared to VADIS mode operation alone. This functionality has been demonstrated off-line for gallium and barium and on-line for mercury and cadmium. Following this work, the RILIS mode of operation was successfully applied on-line for the study of nuclear ground state and isomer properties of mercury isotopes by in-source resonance ionization laser spectroscopy. The results from the first studies of the new operational modes, of what has been termed the Versatile Arc Discharge and Laser Ion Source (VADLIS), are presented and possible directions for future developments are outlined.