Injecting RHIC from the Brookhaven Tandem Van de Graaff

In preparation for the start of experiments using the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), several significant upgrades and improvements were made at the Tandem Van de Graaff. Ion source developments have increased the beam current injected into the tandem, while improvements in foil manufacture and quality control have resulted in better transmission and longer lifetimes for the carbon stripper foils. An oscillating stripper foil chamber has been successfully operated in the high voltage terminal. These improvements have increased the amount of gold ions available from the tandem to 9/spl times/10/sup 9/ ions per pulse, which is a factor of three increase in the last 3 years. A second tandem Van de Graaff is presently being upgraded and connected to the tandem-to-booster transfer line. Once the upgrade is complete both tandems will have the ability to deliver ions to RHIC. It will also be possible for one tandem to inject the RHIC while the other provides beam to a local target room, or to an application facility at the AGS Booster.