Properties of a helium ion beam degrader for implanting SSJ2 tensile specimens at the LBL 88-inch cyclotron

A novel Helium ion beam degrader is being developed for future nuclear materials experiments at the 88-Inch Cyclotron. This dcgradcr provides a tool for researchers to uniformly implant Helium in up to 5 SSJ2 geometry HT-9 tensile test specimens in a single run. The binary dcgradcr provides 165 discrete energy steps into 100 pm of HT-9, thereby providing a homogeneous Helium distribution throughout the material. The system has three water loops to sufficiently cool the dcgradcr, motors, and samples. Additionally, it allows for online monitoring of component temperatures and water flow rates. This degrader system allows for Helium ion implantations that would achieve a uniform Helium profile with higher energies and currents. This is highly desirable allowing the community to study Helium effects in materials.