Improvement of the characterization of the proton source for the European Spallation Source by means of optical emission spectroscopy

Abstract

At the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS), the commissioning of the high intensity proton source for the European Spallation Source (PS-ESS) has been recently completed. Optical emission spectroscopy measurements carried out with PS-ESS permitted, in a noninvasive way, the evaluation of the electron density, temperature, and relative abundances of the neutral components of a hydrogen plasma. This approach is helpful in finding the optimal source parameters exploiting protons or H2+ beams production.