SWISSCASE

Ions are atoms that have lost or gained one or more electrons, providing the ions with a negative or a positive charge. Unlike bound ions found in solutions, free ions are very rare on Earth but are abundantly found in interplanetary space and cometary atmospheres. Ground based ion sources, which produce free ions to simulate these science targets, are used to calibrate space flight instruments on Earth prior to flight. In order to provide a brighter and more versatile ion source to calibrate future space instrumentation at the University of Bern, Switzerland, this thesis presents planing, realization and characterization of a new high performance ion source. SWISSCASE, the Solar Wind Ion Source Simulator for the CAlibration of Space Experiments, is optimized for production of highly charged ions such as 2 μA of Ar8+ and 80 pA of Ar12+. The ions are produced by an electron cyclotron resonance plasma which is heated by microwaves with a frequency of 10 GHz. The plasma is confined by a very compact full permanent magnet hexapole which makes the ion source highly attractive for the operation on a high voltage terminal due to its intrinsically low power consumption.