CERN, Geneva
Electron-cloud is one of the main limitations for particle accelerators with positively charged beams of high intensity and short bunch spacing, as SPS at CERN. The Secondary Electron Yield (SEY) of the inner surface of the vacuum chamber is the main parameter governing the phenomenon. The effect could be eliminated by coating the magnets vacuum chambers with a material of low SEY, which does not require bake-out and is robust against air exposure. For such a purpose amorphous carbon coatings were produced by magnetron sputtering of graphite targets. They exhibit maximum SEY between 0.9 and 1.1 after air transfer to the measuring instrument. After 1 month air exposure the SEY rises to values between 1.1 and 1.4. Storage under nitrogen or by packaging in Al foil makes this increase negligible. The coatings have a similar XPS C1s spectrum for a large set of deposition parameters and exhibit an enlarged line-width compared to pure graphite. The static outgassing without bake-out depends on deposition parameters and is in a range from 1 to 10 times higher than that of stainless steel. Instead, electron stimulated outgassing is lower than for stainless steel and is dominated by CO.
