  The laser ion source project at the IGISOL facility, Jyvaskyla, has motivated
the development and construction of an rf sextupole ion beam guide (SPIG) to
replace the original skimmer electrode. The SPIG has been tested both off-line
and on-line in proton-induced fission, light-ion and heavy-ion induced
fusion-evaporation reactions and, in each case, has been directly compared to
the skimmer system. For both fission and light-ion induced fusion, the SPIG has
improved the mass-separated ion yields by a factor of typically 4 to 8.
Correspondingly, the transmission efficiency of both systems has been studied
in simulations with and without space charge effects. The transport capacity of
the SPIG has been experimentally determined to be 10^12 ions/s before space
charge effects start to take effect. A direct comparison with the simulation
has been made using data obtained via light-ion fusion evaporation. Both
experiment and simulation show an encouraging agreement as a function of
current extracted from the ion guide.
