Low-temperature ionization of metastable atoms emitted by an inductively coupled plasma ion source

An ion source system comprising:

• f. an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, wherein metastable atoms and ions are generated within a plasma vessel;
• g. one or more beams of laser radiation configured to cool or compress the metastable atoms contained inside the plasma vessel;
• h. ions emitted or extracted from the plasma vessel;
• i. charged particle optics configured to accelerate the emitted or extracted ions to form the ion beam.

An ion source comprising:

• j. an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source comprising:
• 1. a plasma discharge vessel containing a gas and having a gas inlet and a plasma outlet;
• 2. an antenna adjacent said discharge vessel and configured to receive an RF current;
• 3. a plurality of electrodes arranged adjacent said plasma outlet;
• k. a laser cooling and photoionization stage, comprising:
• 1. a metastable atom inlet configured to receive a beam of metastable atoms from said inductively coupled plasma source;
• 2. a first set of laser emitters each configured to direct a laser beam into said beam of metastable atoms to cool and/or condense said beam of metastable atoms;
• 3. a second set of laser emitters each configured to direct a laser beam into said beam of metastable atoms to photoionize a population of said metastable atoms to produce a population of ions;
• 4. a plurality of electrodes arranged adjacent said beam of metastable atoms configured to produce an electric field that converts said population of ions into an ion beam;