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The present paper summarizes the results obtained from the past few years in the framework of the Enhanced Multi-Ionization of short-Lived Isotopes for Eurisol (EMILIE) project. The EMILIE project aims at improving the charge breeding techniques with both Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources (ECRIS) and Electron Beam Ion Sources (EBISs) for European Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facilities. Within EMILIE, an original technique for debunching the beam from EBIS charge breeders is being developed, for making an optimal use of the capabilities of CW post-accelerators of the future facilities. Such a debunching technique should eventually resolve duty cycle and time structure issues which presently complicate the data-acquisition of experiments. The results of the first tests of this technique are reported here. In comparison with charge breeding with an EBIS, the ECRIS technique had lower performance in efficiency and attainable charge state for metallic ion beams and also suffered from issues related to beam contamination. In recent years, improvements have been made which significantly reduce the differences between the two techniques, making ECRIS charge breeding more attractive especially for CW machines producing intense beams. Upgraded versions of the Phoenix charge breeder, originally developed by LPSC, will be used at SPES and GANIL/SPIRAL. These two charge breeders have benefited from studies undertaken within EMILIE, which are also briefly summarized here.

As the most ambitious concept of isotope separation on line (ISOL) facility, EURISOL aims at producing unprecedented intensities of post-accelerated radioactive isotopes. Charge breeding, which transforms the charge state of radioactive beams from 1+ to an n+ charge state prior to post-acceleration, is a key technology which has to overcome the following challenges: high charge states for high energies, efficiency, rapidity and purity. On the roadmap to EURISOL, a dedicated R&D is being undertaken to push forward the frontiers of the present state-of-the-art techniques which use either electron cyclotron resonance or electron beam ion sources. We describe here the guidelines of this R&D.