The Plasma Enrichment Process (PEP) is based on the Dawson isotope separation process. The process uses Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH) to selectively energize one isotope. Collection is accomplished by discriminating high energy particles from lower energy particles. The simplest collectors select those particles with a large cyclotron orbit.

The device at UCLA creates a high density plasma with a 2 kW 10 GHz electron cyclotron resonance source. The separation is carried out in a uniform magnetic field region of about 6 kG. The plasma diameter is about 10 cm and the working length is about 1 meter.