In Situ Plasma Processing of Superconducting Cavities at Jefferson Lab
Jefferson Lab began a plasma processing program starting in the spring of 2019. Plasma processing is a common technique for removing hydrocarbons from surfaces, which increases the work function and reduces the secondary emission coefficient. Unlike helium processing which relies on ion bombardment of the field emitters, plasma processing uses free oxygen produced in the plasma to break down the hydrocarbons on the surface of the cavity. The residuals of the hydrocarbons in the form of water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are removed from the cryomodule as part of the process gas flow. The initial focus of the effort is processing C100 cavities by injecting RF power into the HOM coupler ports. We will then start investigating processing of C50 cavities by introducing RF into the fundamental power coupler. The plan is to start processing cryomodules in the CEBAF tunnel in the mid-term future, with a goal of improving the operational gradients and the energy margin of the linacs. This work will describe the systems and methods used at JLAB for processing cavities using an argon oxygen gas mixture. Before and after plasma processing results will also be presented.