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At least 397 records · Page 22

A Cold Moderator For Sub-Thermal Neutron Flux Enhancement at the RPI-LINAC

The importance of high-quality thermal neutron scattering kernels coupled with a lack of accurate sub-thermal total cross section data prompted researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to design a cold moderation system to enhance sub-thermal neutron flux (defined as flux below 5 meV), for nuclear data measurements at the RPI Gaerttner LINAC facility. Using a series of neutronic and heat transfer simulations obtained with MCNP and COMSOL, an optimized final design was produced. The final design exceeded current target sub-thermal neutron producing capabilities by a factor of 8 in the sub-thermal region and is easily configurable with existing neutron producing targets.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Design of a Microbunched Electron Cooler Energy Recovery Linac

Microbunched electron Cooling (MBEC), a type of Coherent electron Cooling (CeC), is a possible way to cool high energy protons; such an electron cooler can be driven by an energy recovery linac (ERL). The beam parameters of this design are based on cooling 275 and 100 GeV protons at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), requiring 150 and 55 MeV electrons, respectively. If implemented, a high energy cooler would serve to increase the average luminosity of the collider by mitigating the emittance growth caused by various processes. This ERL is designed to deliver a bunch charge of 1 nC, an average current of 100 mA, and strict requirements on the transverse emittance, slice energy spread, and longitudinal distribution profile. This paper covers the current state of the design.

Accelerator Physics↗

Controls at the Fermilab PIP-II Superconducting Linac

PIP-II is an 800 MeV superconducting RF linac under development at Fermilab. As the new first stage in our accelerator chain, it will deliver high-power beam to multiple experiments simultaneously and thus drive Fermilab’s particle physics program for years to come. In a pivot for Fermilab, controls for PIP-II are based on EPICS instead of ACNET, the legacy control system for accelerators at the lab. This paper discusses the status of the EPICS controls work for PIP-II. We describe the EPICS tools selected for our system and the experience of operators new to EPICS. We introduce our continuous integration / continuous development environment. We also describe some efforts at cooperation between EPICS and ACNET, or efforts to move towards a unified interface that can apply to both control systems.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Coherent Synchrotron Radiation in Energy Recovery Linacs

Collective beam effects, including coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR), have been studied on free-electron lasers (FELs). Here we will discuss a particular case of the CSR effects, that in energy-recovery linacs (ERLs). Special consideration is given to these machines because of their high average beam power and the architecture of the machine for energy recovery forces extreme bends. A recent study conducted on the JLab IR FEL looked at how CSR impacts both average energy and the energy spectrum of the beam. Such studies are important, both broadly, to the understanding of CSR and more specifically for a number of proposed ERL projects. A few proposed examples include the MEIC bunched beam cooler ERL design and ERL FELs for potential lithography purposes that would operate in the EUV range.

Douglas, David↗

UH-FLUX: Compact, Energy Efficient Superconducting Asymmetric Energy Recovery LINAC for Ultra-high Fluxes of X-ray and THz Radiation

The conventional ERLs have limited peak beam current because increasing the beam charge and repetition rate leads to appearance of the beam break-up instabilities. At this stage the highest current, from the SRF ERL, is around 300 mA. A single-turn (the beam will be transported through the accelerating section, interaction point and deceleration section of the AERL only once) Asymmetric Energy Recovery LINAC (AERL) is proposed. The RF cells in different sections of the cavity are tuned in such a way that only operating mode is uniform inside all of the cells. The AERL will drive the electron beams with typical energies of 10 - 30 MeV and peak currents above 1 A, enabling the generation of high flux UV/X-rays and high power coherent THz radiation. We aim to build a copper prototype of the RF cavity for a compact AERL to study its EM properties. The final goal is to build AERL based on the superconducting RF cavity. Preliminary design for AERL's cavity has been developed and will be presented. The results of numerical and analytical models and the next steps toward the AERL operation will also be discussed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

The RaDIATE High-Energy Proton Materials Irradiation Experiment at the Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer Facility

The RaDIATE collaboration (Radiation Damage In Accelerator Target Environments) was founded in 2012 to bring together the high-energy accelerator target and nuclear materials communities to address the challenging issue of radiation damage effects in beam-intercepting materials. Success of current and future high intensity accelerator target facilities requires a fundamental understanding of these effects including measurement of materials property data. Toward this goal, the RaDIATE collaboration organized and carried out a materials irradiation run at the Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer facility (BLIP). The experiment utilized a 181 MeV proton beam to irradiate several capsules, each containing many candidate material samples for various accelerator components. Materials included various grades/alloys of beryllium, graphite, silicon, iridium, titanium, TZM, CuCrZr, and aluminum. Attainable peak damage from an 8-week irradiation run ranges from 0.03 DPA (Be) to 7 DPA (Ir). Helium production is expected to range from 5 appm/DPA (Ir) to 3,000 appm/DPA (Be). The motivation, experimental parameters, as well as the post-irradiation examination plans of this experiment are described.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Modeling Challenges for Energy Recovery Linacs with Long, High Charge Bunches

Historically, nearly all energy recovery linacs (ERLs) built and operated were used to drive a free-electron laser (FEL). The requirement for high peak current bunches necessitates bunch compression and handling the attendant beam dynamical challenges. In recent years, ERLs have turned from being drivers of light sources toward applications for nuclear physics experiments, Compton backscattering sources and strong electron cooling. Unlike an FEL, these latter uses require long, high charge bunches with small energy spread. The electron bunch must maintain a small projected energy spread and therefore must avoid gross distortion due to CSR and longitudinal space charge over a single (or multiple) recirculations. Accurately modeling the relevant collective effects in the system 'space charge, microbunching instability, CSR and the effect of shielding' in addition to beam dynamical processes such as halo, presents a formidable challenge. Absent a code that models all of these effects, we outline an approach towards the design, analysis and optimization of the high-energy electron cooler for the Jefferson Lab Electron-Ion Collider and survey widely used codes and their capabilities.

Tennant, Christopher D.↗

Commissioning and Operation of FAST Electron Linac at Fermilab

We report results of the beam commissioning and first operation of the 1.3 GHz superconducting RF electron linear accelerator at Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) facility. Construction of the linac was completed and the machine was commissioned with beam in 2017. The maximum total beam energy of about 300 MeV was achieved with the record energy gain of 250 MeV in the ILC-type SRF cryomodule. The pho-toinjector was tuned to produce trains of 200 pC bunches with a frequency of 3 MHz at a repetition rate of 1 Hz. This report describes the aspects of machine commission-ing such as tuning of the SRF cryomodule and beam optics optimization. We also present highlights of an experimental program carried out parasitically during the two-month run, including studies of wake-fields, and advanced beam phase space manipulation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

UNDERSTANDING AND MITIGATION OF FIELD EMISSION IN CEBAF SRF LINACS

We present our current understanding of field emission (FE) in two 1.1 GeV continuous wave (CW) superconducting radio frequency (SRF) linacs at CEBAF and its mitigation for improved CEBAF energy reach and operation reliability. We focus on the root causes of FE in operational SRF cavities, including recently installed cavities for CEBAF 12 GeV energy upgrade. We evaluate the effect of initial mitigations implemented since 2016, aimed at reducing generation and transportation of new field emitting particulates. Effects of cavity thermal cycling aimed at abating activation of settled field emitting particulates will be evaluated as well. Remaining issues toward predictable control of field emission in operational SRF cavities will be discussed.

Geng, R.L.↗

Lattice Design of the Beam Transfer Line (BTL) from PIP-II LINAC to the Booster at Fermilab

PIP-II beam transfer line (BTL) to transport the beam from PIP-II Linac to the Booster ring at Fermilab. The latest design eliminates rolling the dipoles in the beam line to cross over the Tevatron tunnel. Also re-designed is the lattice in the region of the Booster Injection to meet the request of the civil construction needs and accommodate the constrains of the Booster injection request. A beam line to the beam absorber (BAL) is designed based on the request from the results of Mars simulations and ANASYS calculation of the absorber. Simulations with dipole and quadrupole field errors for the Beam Transport Line (BTL) to the Booster, which provides the specifications for all the magnets and Power supplies, will be presented too.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Multipacting analysis of the SNS drift tube linac (DTL) RF vacuum window using Spark3d

An ongoing study at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) seeks to better understand and address potential multipacting issues associated with the Drift Tube Linac (DTL) RF vacuum windows. An analysis of several failed operational windows showed indications of excessive RF heating on the TiN-coated alumina ceramics. Coupled with vacuum bursts and arcing during conditioning and/or operational periods, these problems have been attributed to electron activity likely caused by multipacting. The status of the study, 3-D electromagnetic simulation results, mitigating techniques and a future experimental plan for studying multipacting in the SNS DTL vacuum windows are presented.

Toby, George↗

EUV FEL light source based on energy recovery linac with on-orbit laser plasma injection

We report on a week-long study of a conceptual design of EUV FEL light source based on an energy recovery linac with on-orbit laser plasma accelerator injection scheme. We carried out this study during USPAS Summer 2023 session of Unifying Physics of Accelerators, Lasers and Plasma applying the art of inventiveness TRIZ. An ultrashort Ti-sapphire laser accelerates electron beams from a gas target with mean energy of 20 MeV, which are then ramped up to 1 GeV in a five-turn scheme with a series of fixed field alternating magnets and two superconducting RF cavities (100 MeV per cavity per turn). The electron beam is then bypassed to an undulator line optimized to generate EUV light of 13.5 nm at kW level in a single pass.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Recent progress in laser wire-based H- beam diagnostics at the SNS linac

Laser wire has been used for nonintrusive profile and emittance measurements of operational hydrogen ion (H-) beam at the SNS linac. In this talk, we will describe the following recent developments in the laser wire system. 1) An upgraded light source and laser transport line which enables novel measurement capabilities including longitudinal profile measurement and high-energy proton beam extraction over potentially an entire macropulse. 2) A dual-detector emittance measurement scheme that boosted the dynamic range by an order of magnitude. 3) Design and implementation laser-wire-based nonintrusive longitudinal phase space measurement system.

Liu, Yun↗

Niobium-tin as a transformative technology for low-beta linacs

Niobium-tin has been identified as the most promising next-generation superconducting material for accelerator cavities. This is due to the higher critical temperature (Tc = 18 K) of Nb3Sn compared to niobium (TC = 9.2 K), which leads to greatly reduced RF losses in the cavity during 4.5 K operation. This allows two important changes during cavity and cryomodule design. First, the higher Tc leads to negligible BCS losses when operated at 4.5 K, which allows for a higher frequency to be used, translating to significantly smaller cavities and cryomodules. Second, the reduced dissipated power lowers the required cryogenic cooling capacity, meaning that cavities can feasibly be operated on 5-10 W cryocoolers instead of a centralized helium refrigeration plant. These plants and distribution systems are costly and complex, requiring skilled technicians for operation and maintenance. These fundamental changes present an opportunity for a paradigm shift in how low-beta linacs are designed and operated. Fabrication challenges and first coated cavity test results are discussed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Automated RF Phase Adjustment for Beam Stabilization in the Fermilab Linac

The Fermilab Linac experiences longitudinal beam phase drift, leading to increased particle loss, conventionally corrected through labor-intensive manual RF adjustments. This project explores machine learning-based automation for drift correction, employing a prototype-based classification approach. Our model utilizes a 34-dimensional feature set (RF settings and BPM readings) and leverages a 7x27 response matrix for system modeling. To overcome limited real-world data, we generate synthetic data, enhancing model training and generalizability. Custom loss functions, including a surrogate energy-consistent loss and a temporal smoothness constraint, ensure physically plausible drift predictions. The goal is a robust system for autonomous phase adjustments, ensuring stable beam acceleration and reduced manual intervention.

Chichili, R. R. [Illinois U., Chicago]↗

Design of a microbunched electron cooler energy recovery linac

Microbunched electron Cooling (MBEC), a type of Coherent electron Cooling (CeC), is a possible way to cool high energy protons; such an electron cooler can be driven by an energy recovery linac (ERL). The beam parameters of this design are based on cooling 275 and 100 GeV protons at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), requiring 150 and 55 MeV electrons, respectively. If implemented, a high energy cooler would serve to increase the average luminosity of the collider by mitigating the emittance growth caused by various processes. This ERL is designed to deliver a bunch charge of 1 nC, an average current of 100 mA, and strict requirements on the transverse emittance, slice energy spread, and longitudinal distribution profile. This paper covers the current state of the design.

Accelerator Physics↗

Measuring orbit responses with oscillating trajectories in the Fermilab Linac

Recording changes in beam transverse positions and longitudinal phase reported by Beam Position Monitors (BPMs) in response to a beam deflection by an upstream dipole corrector or RF cavity phase (orbit response) is a powerful tool for analysis of accelerator optics and assisting with machine tuning. In Fermilab Linac, orbit responses were recorded by oscillating the corrector currents and cavity phases in a sinusoidal manner parasitically during regular operation, simultaneously oscillating up to 19 correctors and 7 cavities at distinct frequencies, providing faster, drift-resistant measurements through frequency-domain analysis. This report describes the technique, including error estimations and consistency checks and shows examples of the measurements.

Shemyakin, Alexander [Fermilab] (ORCID:00000001501↗

Space charge studies on strong hadron cooler energy recovery linac

An Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) based cooler, using Coherent electron Cooling (CeC) is being designed for cooling hadron beams of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The ERL design utilizes highcurrent, high-brightness electron beams with low emittance and a uniform longitudinal distribution for efficient hadron cooling. This is designed to operate in two modes to accommodate cooling requirements for hadron bunches at 100 GeV and 275 GeV, each with an average current of 100 mA and 1 nC bunch charge. With these parameters, the space charge effects become significant in this ERL design due to the low beam energy and high beam current. In this paper, we discuss strategies for including space charge effects in the optics design and implementation of an interface for space charge dominated and non-dominated regions of this ERL lattice.

Accelerator Physics↗