Field emission (FE) and vacuum arcs limit the maximum achievable accelerating field of both normal and superconducting cavities. The performance of accelerating cavities can be improved after a long conditioning process. Understanding this process and the formation of vacuum arcs is important for all technologies where vacuum arcs cause device failure. The understanding could be more complete with novel diagnostic tools and tests in variable environments. The cryogenic HV system in FREIA laboratory is used to study different aspects of conditioning using DC pulses at a wide range of temperatures, down to 4K. We are currently measuring FE currents during conditioning for Cu, Nb and Ti electrodes in function of temperature and breakdown rate. We are also developing a new characterization method, evaluating the surface resistivity of the electrodes during conditioning. Changes in the surface resistivity could indicate the formation of dislocations below the surface, which has been speculated to be a very important process behind conditioning. We will present the results of conditioning with the FE measurements and the surface resistivity measurements.

Transparent off-axis injection in a storage ring by means of a non-linear kicker requires tight field tolerances at the limit of modern technique. To characterize the field profile of the non-linear kicker under development for the ALBA-II storage ring, a dedicated measurement bench based on a variant of the vibrating wire technique was developed. The small size and limited weight of the kicker magnet under study allows for some unusual solution which substantially simplify the set-up. Field mapping is obtained by scanning the magnet aperture, while keeping the wire steady, simplifying considerably the wire tensioning system. The wire is suspended vertically in a pendulum configuration eliminating the wire sagging problem and resulting in an inherently stable wire tension. Furthermore we investigate the possibility to characterize time dependent phenomena, such as the effect of eddy currents induced in the titanium coating of the magnet vacuum chamber, by using using an etherodyne approach where the magnet and the wire are excited by a continuous wave signal with period close to the characteristic kicker pulse period and differing in frequency by the wire resonance frequency

The European LEAPS-INNOV project has launched a Research and Development program dedicated to the design of a new generation of germanium detectors for X-ray spectroscopy applications. The present article shows the results of the thermomechanical simulations of this design, based on finite element analysis (FEA) studies, under vacuum and cryogenic conditions. The first results of these simulations were published at IPAC'23*. In this new work, the final results are presented, which includes the thermal optimization of the detector with respect to the previous study, as well as new numerical simulations to investigate the effects of vibration transmission from the cryocooler to the head detector.

Within the field of Particle Accelerators engineering, the design of cooling channels for its components has heavily relied on experimental correlations to compute convective heat transfer coefficients. These coefficients are believed to have a conservative factor which end up in oversized designs. The following study assesses this conservative factor for fully developed flows, in the laminar, turbulent and transition regimes. It will also focus on different geometries to do so. With this objective in mind, simulation models have been developed and correlated with experiments carried out at ALBA synchrotron. In the course of this research, various turbulence models and meshes have been examined for the development of the simulations. Heat transfer coefficients were derived from the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and juxtaposed with empirical correlations. The specific geometries under investigation encompass a circular channel with a 10mm inner diameter, a rectangular section channel, and a pinhole geometry, the latter being frequently employed in accelerator technology.

Ultrafast Microscopy using MeV beam has made significant progress in the past 5 years. However, in order to push to atomic level resolution, other than the requirements of beam source, there are also high demands in high strength focusing elements. In comparison of commercial 100s KeV level electron microscopes, an MeV imaging beamline requires Tesla level lenses, preferably round solenoid lens. Tesla class DC solenoids are prohibitively bulky and heavy, and superconducting solenoids are not cost effective. We have developed a novel miniature flux concentrator based solenoid lens system for MeV UED/UEM applications. It can reach 2-Tesla with 1e-5 level stability (depending on the pulsed current source). Here we will present detailed development process and experimental results.

The LHC Abort Gap Monitor (AGM) is part of the LHC machine protection system (MPS) and is designed to measure the particle population in a 3us wide region known as the "abort gap." This region needs to be kept empty to ensure safe beam dumps. The AGM captures the synchrotron light generated in the visible part of the spectra and converts it into an electric signal. This signal is then processed by an acquisition system and can trigger the ‘abort gap cleaning’ process. The current AGM, which has been in operation since 2010, uses an analogue integrator ASIC and a 40 MHz analogue-to-digital (ADC) converter to provide the particle population information. However, this solution is now considered obsolete and is being replaced by a digital signal processing approach. Working directly in the digital domain not only offers more scalability but also better determinism and reliability. This work presents the new technical solution for the acquisition chain, compares the characteristics of both implementations, and showcases recent measurements conducted on the LHC ion beams.

An 820 mA CW positive ion source is being developed to produce Mo-99 using the fusion of deuterium and tritium ion beams on a rotating target to produce neutrons for use in the production of radiopharmaceuticals. The ion source consists of an RF plasma source, a multi-aperture extractor, and 300 kV accelerating column. This paper will describe a simulation study of the beam through the extractor grid and the accelerator to the target. The uniformity of beam distribution on the target is an important aspect of the simulation.

NanoSonic has demonstrated advanced high radiation durable composite and polymeric materials for applications in radio frequency devices, cryomodule gate valves, and seals for beam dumps. Through additive and scalable manufacturing techniques, the novel radiation tolerant polymers for use within accelerator components and subsystems have shown potential to replace current state of the art materials which degrade through radiation induced brittle failure and other failure mechanisms. NanoSonic’s composites have undergone both shielding and exposure radiation testing at low doses of proton, iron, and electron irradiation (up to 27 Gy) and are currently being tested for ultra-high radiation exposure (up to 20.0 MGy). No remarkable mechanical changes have been observed after low dose testing for NanoSonic’s materials. These novel composite materials will reduce maintenance and replacement frequency offering the potential for significant cost reductions and operational downtime.

Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) has led significant advancements in accelerator electronics development, leveraging Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) based Digital Signal Processing (DSP) across various critical systems, including Low Level RF (LLRF), Longitudinal Beam Loss Monitoring (LBLM), charge particle measurement via Integrating Current Transformers (ICT), Timing, Filling Pattern Monitor (FPM), Beam Position Monitor (BPM) and other essential beam instruments. Over the past decade, PSI’s approach to develop in-house control system platform (e.g. CPCI-S.0), has encouraged innovation. The strategic reorganization within PSI, fostering collaboration among FPGA firmware engineers, led to the inception of Open-Source FPGA DSP libraries hosted on GitHub. Serving as a comprehensive repository, these libraries empower developers by providing common FPGA IPs, fundamental DSP algorithms and Fixed-Point (FP) arithmetic units. Their presence advances prototype development by enabling rapid assembly of several measurement and or control concepts. In this contribution, we present the features and the transformative impact of the PSI Open-source FPGA libraries with a focus on LLRF. This initiative has not only empowered our team to provide valuable insights, but has also streamlined the integration of new recruits and students, enabling the seamless continuation of FPGA design frameworks.

The accelerator network of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) was initially designed and installed in 2015. It consists of three types of networks: a Public Network for external internet access, an Operation Network for accelerator operation and overall control, and a Control Network for device control and monitoring. From a hardware perspective, it comprises 2 firewalls, 1 intrusion prevention system, 4 backbones, 36 office network switches, and 77 switches for gallery and tunnel networks. Each network is physically or logically separated, and the backbone, serving as the main equipment, is configured in a redundant manner to prepare for failures

In this work, we will present some recent analysis of the reliability statistics of the CEBAF SRF linac systems. Based on the data collected by the existing Down Time Manager (DTM), the year-to-year downtime evolution trend of linac zones over the six-year period from FY18 to FY23 is established. An in-depth downtime analysis at a resolution beyond the linac zone level was carried out, by introducing an alternative system hierarchy consisting of the SRF linac sub-systems and components. This new paradigm was implemented in a pilot downtime study over the two-month period of CEBAF operation from 9/13/23 to 11/13/23, enabling localization of the responsible sub-systems (SRF, HPRF, LLRF, Beamline vacuum, Cryogenics, etc.) and hardware components (cavity, tuner, RF coupler, etc.) in the CEBAF SRF linac systems. Pinpointing downtime sources at the sub-systems and component levels holds the key to improving the CEBAF SRF systems reliability. It also helps identify areas of SRF technology development needed by future high-power high-reliability CW SRF linacs.

Field emission (FE) and vacuum arcs limit the maximum achievable accelerating field of both normal and superconducting cavities. The performance of accelerating cavities can be improved after a long conditioning process. Understanding this process and the formation of vacuum arcs is important for all technologies where vacuum arcs cause device failure. The understanding could be more complete with novel diagnostic tools and tests in variable environments. The cryogenic HV system in FREIA laboratory is used to study different aspects of conditioning using DC pulses at a wide range of temperatures, down to 4K. We are currently measuring FE currents during conditioning for Cu, Nb and Ti electrodes in function of temperature and breakdown rate. We are also developing a new characterization method, evaluating the surface resistivity of the electrodes during conditioning. Changes in the surface resistivity could indicate the formation of dislocations below the surface, which has been speculated to be a very important process behind conditioning. We will present the results of conditioning with the FE measurements and the surface resistivity measurements.