Fused filament fabrication of ceramic insulators for FEBIAD ISOL ion sources

An approach for creating radioactive ion beams, the Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) method is helpful for fundamental nuclear physics research as well as a number of other interdisciplinary applications, including nuclear medicine, Astrophysics and Nucleosynthesis, Material Science and Solid-State Physics, Environmental Science and Geology, Biological and Chemical Research, etc. A primary beam of light particles, such protons, is taken from a primary accelerator and carried up to a production target in accordance with the ISOL technique. A distinctive collection of radionuclides is produced as a result of a sequence of nuclear events triggered by the beam's contact with the target. The generated nuclei are liberated and go in the direction of an ion source, where they get ionized and then extracted into a radioactive ion beam. It occurs due to the very high operating temperature which is more than 2000°C. After undergoing many stages of electromagnetic mass separation, the beam is subsequently cleaned and made available to experimental users. The Italian ISOL facility at Legnaro National Laboratories of the Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN-LNL) is called SPES, or Selective Production of Exotic Species. The ion source is a crucial part of the entire ISOL process; at SPES, the Forced Electron Beam Ion Arc Discharge source, or FEBIAD, is one of the most used sources. The two primary components of such an ion source are the cathode and the anode, which are both composed of refractory metals. These components need to be kept electrically insulated at temperatures between 1500°C and 2000°C. The ion source usually does not show performance consistently or reliably due to the complex assembly process, and it’s difficult to accurately make parts from these tough, heat-resistant refractory materials. For this, the INFN facilities are now looking into using additive manufacturing to fabricate the two electrodes. This strategy would provide improved ion source characteristics and simpler construction. As long as the final components have suitable thermal and electrical qualities, the insulating elements in this situation would need unique forms, which can be produced by additive printing. In this thesis work, different testing was conducted to recheck few physical properties of the previously made Zetamix white Zirconia sample. The samples were made again and checked their properties. I also made insulator with a new design that is compatible with the current ion source. Both the previous cylindrical insulators and the new insulators were made by using additive manufacturing (Fused Filament Fabrication) using commercial feedstock. The printed parts were subjected to thermal sintering and chemical debinding processes. Porosimetry, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and microhardness tests were used to characterize their physicochemical characteristics both before and after treatment. A special experimental setup was used to examine its electrical resistivity and thermal resilience at high temperatures of a previously made cylindrical pin.