EBITs are versatile tools for spectroscopic studies of partially ionized atomic systems, mainly in the x-ray domain. This yields valuable information for fundamental atomic physics as well as astrophysics. Ion charge state distributions, resulting from ionization and recombination processes, can be observed and used to benchmark plasma dynamics. Furthermore, EBITs can be used as small stand-alone ion sources, as they are already used for example at the HITRAP facility. The Jena S-EBIT facility are two EBITs, the former R- and S-EBIT from Stockholm*, which both are suitable for x-ray spectroscopy studies and ion extraction. The S-EBIT I has been used as a tool for x-ray spectroscopy, including the testing of newly developed x-ray detectors, like the magnetic metallic microcalorimeter maXs30**. In addition, the setup was expanded by a testing beamline, to evaluate the potential of the S-EBIT I as an ion source. The S-EBIT II is currently in commissioning for operation as a standalone ion source for HITRAP in the near future. This will provide new opportunities for local experiments, like the ARTEMIS experiment, independently from the GSI accelerator infrastructure.

We measured electron-impact excitation and recombination rate coefficients at the Stockholm Electron Beam Ion Trap (S-EBIT) with Highly Charged Ions (HCI) such as Siq+ and Sq+ that are of astrophysical interest. The experimental method was a combination of photon detection from the trapped ions and subsequently extraction and time-of-flight analysis of these ions. This allows to obtain recombination rate coefficients separately for every charge state, and together with the photon spectra of these ions also the excitation rate coefficients. Particularly electron-impact excitation measurements are rare, although important for astrophysics, and their description are challenging for theory. Here we compare the experimental results* ** with calculations of recombination and excitation rates for Si10+-Si13+ and S12+-S15+ ions*** **** using relativistic distorted-wave approach*** ****. The direct and resonant excitation (EIE) cross sections associated with 1s nl core excitations are calculated for the ground states of Si10+-Si13+ and S12+-S15+ions3*** ****. The different recombination and excitation channels and differences between experiment and theory are discussed.