Experimental Condition and Optimization for Coexistence of Fullerene and Iron Ions in ECRIS

An ion source on the basis of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma has been constructed for producing wide-range mass/charge (m/q) ion beams in Osaka Univ. It is considered to be suitable for synthesizing new molecules using a wide operating range. We have already produced and extracted multicharged fullerenes and their compound ion beams with gaseous material, i.e. nitrogen and argon from the second stage using pure C
₆₀
vapor source. We are planning to produce endohedral fullerenes in the ECR ion source (ECRIS) plasma. We describe initial experimental results on producing and optimizing for coexistence of iron and fullerene ions in the ECRIS in order to produce metal endohedral fullerenes, e.g. iron endohedral fullerenes.