During the first three years since May 2022, FRIB has been operating safely meeting expectations of both scientific and industrial users with high machine availability, while ramping up the beam power to 20 kW for heavy ions including uranium. The paper summarizes the operational experience and challenges, accelerator improvement projects, expansions in user stations, accelerator R&D and workforce growth programs, and preparation for facility upgrades*.

Inductive ovens are integral to electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion sources, facilitating the generation of high-intensity solid ion beams. At the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), specialized inductive High Temperature Oven (HTO) has been developed to ensure the reliable production of solid ion beams for the High-Power ECR (HPECR) ion source. These HTOs have successfully supported the operation of various solid ion beams, including Silicon, Nickel, and Uranium. In alignment with the FRIB beam power ramp-up objectives, future requirements include increased beam currents and prolonged operational durations for heavier species. To optimize HTO performance in response to these evolving demands, a series of design improvements have been implemented, drawing on insights from previous operational experience. These improvements are intended to enhance both operational stability and beam consistency. The detailed improved design, Ansys® simulation results, and testing results will be presented and discussed.

HPECR (High-Power superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source) has been in routine operation at 18 GHz for FRIB (Facility for Rare Isotope Beams) since Jan. 2023. It has delivered various species of heavy ion beams for user experiments such as 28Si11+, 48Ca10+, 58Ni17+, 124Xe26+ and 238U35+ etc., and the total beam time so far has exceeded 3600 hours. To meet the FRIB beam power ramp-up demand, a 28 GHz/10 kW gyrotron microwave transmitter has been installed and tested, with the source commissioning is currently in progress. In this contribution, a review of the operation of the HPECR ion source at FRIB will be presented. Typical performances, operation status, as well as the future development plans will be discussed.