A beam of oions has been produced at 7-13 keV, with currents up to 2.2 A, using charge exchange in sodium vapor. The beam profile is a bi-Gaussian with angular divergence 0.8° x 2.7° and peak current density 15 mA/ 2 em . The characteristics of the beam are in excellent agreement with predictions based on atomic cross sections. The sodium vapor target is formed by a j directed across the beam. The sodium density drops rapidly in the beamline downstream from the charge exchange region;

more »

... three orders of magnitude in 15 em. urement and analysis of the plasma accompanying the beam demonstrate that plasma densities nearly equal to the beam density are obtained one meter from the charge exchange medium. The plasma produced in the sodium is thus well confined to the charge exchange region and does not propagate along the beam.