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All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2021

BEAM COLLIMATION IN THE PIP-II LINAC TO BOOSTER TRANSFER LINE

The new PIP-II superconducting linac will deliver a 2 mA average H⁻ beam to the existing Booster synchrotron. The injected beam is accumulated by charge exchange over approximately 300 turns; phase space painting is used to mitigate space charge effects. To limit the power load on the internal waste beam absorber from the transverse tails of the H⁻ distribution missing the foil, the beam will be collimated in both planes in the linac to Booster transfer line using compact collimators of a novel design. Both the number of parasitic hits and the fraction of the beam missing the foil are sensitive functions of the H⁻ beam centroid position with respect to the edge of the foil. The positioning of the collimation is constrained by the availability of suitable space in the transfer line lattice, by specifics of the collimator design, by the phase space orientation at the collimator, and by the betatron phase advance to the foil needed to achieve proper orientation of the spatial distribution at the injection point. In this contribution, we describe the procedure by which collimator positions were optimized. We then discuss the expected performance of the overall system.

Johnson, David E.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Optimizing collimator positions using bayesian optimization in the Fermilab MI-8 transfer line

Collimators are used to minimize losses and to remove particles that would otherwise get lost downstream and irradiate the machine. Finding the optimal jaw positions is time consuming and with the upstream beam properties changing, the collimation settings would need to be readjusted each time. Therefore, a method to optimize collimator positions and to operate them at full capacity in a short time is required for loss control downstream. A study of collimator positions was conducted and a machine learning (ML) model was developed to predict optimal collimator positions. Bayesian Optimization (BO) was used to calculate new jaw positions from the ML model. The results of BO and usage of ML for better performance of the collimation system are presented in this paper.

Babacan, Betiay [Fermilab]↗

NASA NTRS1976

Design and fabrication of multigrid X-ray collimators

The paper considers the design and fabrication of multigrid collimators for use in X-ray astronomy. The most important collimator performance criteria are minimum off-band transmission or leakage, and maximum on-band transmission. Lockheed experience with multigrid collimator is summarized: (1) an Oda type with one-dimensional collimation of 1.7 arc minute FWHM and using only the central transmission band, (2) an Oda type with 2 arc minute one-dimensional collimation using up to 27 transmission bands, each separated by 42 arc min. and (3) a modified Parkinson type with two-dimensional collimation of 40 arc sec. Attention is given to grid materials, precision, plating, hole quality, and results of acceptance testing.

Acton, L. W.↗

DOE OSTI2024

A Novel Two Stage Collimation Unit for Fermilab Booster

A new two-stage collimation unit (2SC) for Fermilab Booster will be installed during 2024 summer shutdown. It is a supplementary collimator for existing single stage Booster collimators. Design details of this 2SC adapted to Booster conditions are described. Results of beam dynamics simulations on collimation efficiency and evaluation of collimator shielding with MARS code on this new system are presented. The analysis on beam dynamics shows that the system will help to collimate up to about 1% of the beam in a confined way and, prompt and residual activation meet Fermilab Radiological Control limits in current as well as during PIP-II era high intensity operation of the Booster.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Collimation study for LCLS

In this study we investigate the power deposition along the undulator section of the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) due to the primary e¯ -beam but also due to potential secondary particles. The expected beam distribution after the LCLS injector is deliberately broadened as an approximated representation of the beam halo. Secondary particles, as e + , e¯ and photons, are generated as a result of tracking the intercepted beam through a dense material. This process is carried out by means of GEANT-4, which has been convoluted into our main tracking engine, LUCRETIA. Simulations show no losses along the undulator section when assuming the nominal primary beam and collimator gaps. However when opening the gaps of collimators located at the first collimator section, by 25%, the fattened beam is partially intercepted by the second collimator section, which is aligned to the undulators. Secondary particles, mostly photons generated at the second collimator section, deposit their energy along the undulator section, at a rate of the order of a milliwatt.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Evaluation of gamma-ray transmission through rectangular collimator slits for application in nuclear fuel spectrometry

Gamma-ray spectrometry is widely applied in several science fields, and in particular in non-destructive gamma scanning and gamma emission tomography of irradiated nuclear fuel. Usually, a collimator is used in the experimental setup, to selectively interrogate a region of interest in the fuel. For the optimization of instrument design, as well as for planning measurement campaigns, predictive models for the transmitted gamma-ray intensity through the collimator are needed. Commonly, Monte Carlo Radiation Transport tools are used for accurate prediction of gamma-ray transport, however, the long computation time requirements when used in low-efficiency experimental setups present challenges. Here, the full-energy peak intensity transmitted through a rectangular collimator slit was examined. A uniform planar surface source emitting isotropically was considered, and the rate of photons reaching an ideal counter plane on the opposite side of the collimator was evaluated by analytical integration. To find a closed-form primitive function, some idealizations were required, and thereby parametric models were obtained for the optical field of view, dependent on slit dimensions (length, height and width) and source-to-collimator distance. For contributions from outside the optical field of view, where a closed-form expression cannot be found, fast numerical integral methods were instead used. The results were validated using the Monte Carlo code MCNP6 and show an agreement within three percent for the numerical method. For the analytical method, deviations up to tens of percent were obtained, which is deemed to still be sufficient for instrument design and measurement planning, where often the order of magnitude of the count rate is not a priori known. The method is planned for use in iterative optimization routines in the design of Gamma Emission Tomography devices, as well as for the prediction of gamma spectra obtained in the planning of fuel inspections. An application of the proposed method was demonstrated in spectrum prediction for a short cooling-time fuel rod test from the Halden reactor.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2019

Design of a radial collimator for the SEQUOIA direct geometry chopper spectrometer

The SEQUOIA direct geometry chopper spectrometer at the Spallation Neutron Source is considering acquisition of a radial collimator. We present here Monte-Carlo calculations examining the proposed collimator's performance. Through comparison of calculations with and without sample environments in place, one can determine appropriate parameters to use in the collimator design. The numerical results provide enough detail to determine the angular collimation for the radial collimator.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Characterization of Pinhole Collimators for High-Resolution Gamma Imaging of Irradiated Fuel

Post-irradiation examination (PIE) of nuclear fuels requires imaging tools capable of resolving isotopic and spatial features with high throughput. This project contributes to a proof-of-concept effort aimed at advancing gamma emission tomography (GET) by evaluating novel fine-aperture pinhole collimators. Two Rose’s metal collimators, 100 µm (20° acceptance angle) and 350 µm (30° acceptance angle), were prototyped and characterized for their effectiveness in transporting gamma rays through the pinhole aperture. To support data collection, a Python-based data acquisition system was developed to coordinate a rotation stage, linear stage, and CZT detector, reducing latency in high-rate gamma event logging to one second per acquisition. Queue-based file writing enabled seamless real-time data capture for count rates up to 35,000 counts per second (cps). List-mode parsing algorithms were implemented to differentiate single and simultaneous gamma interactions for future tomographic reconstruction. Detector response was evaluated in both spectroscopy and list mode acquisition methods across varying source distances to confirm absolute and collimator efficiencies. Preliminary efficiency figures suggest effective collimation of gamma-rays with energies below 700 keV, with ~4% residual intensity through the aperture for Cs-137. The impact of collimator geometry on image quality is currently being evaluated. This groundwork supports the ongoing development of a sub mm resolution cone-beam CT system for imaging fuel phantoms, an essential step toward improving GET efficiency and accelerating nuclear fuel qualification efforts.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗

DOE OSTI2023

Model-Based Reconstruction for Multi-Frequency Collimated Beam Ultrasound Systems

Collimated beam ultrasound systems are a technology for imaging inside multi-layered structures such as geothermal wells. These systems work by using a collimated narrow-band ultrasound transmitter that can penetrate through multiple layers of heterogeneous material. A series of measurements can then be made at multiple transmit frequencies. However, commonly used reconstruction algorithms such as Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) tend to produce poor quality reconstructions for these systems both because they do not model collimated beam systems and they do not jointly reconstruct the multiple frequencies. Here, in this article, we propose a multi-frequency ultrasound model-based iterative reconstruction (UMBIR) algorithm designed for multi-frequency collimated beam ultrasound systems. The combined system targets reflective imaging of heterogeneous, multi-layered structures. For each transmitted frequency band, we introduce a physics-based forward model to accurately account for the propagation of the collimated narrow-band ultrasonic beam through the multi-layered media. We then show how the joint multi-frequency UMBIR reconstruction can be computed by modeling the direct arrival signals, detector noise, and incorporating a spatially varying image prior. Results using both simulated and experimental data indicate that multi-frequency UMBIR reconstruction yields much higher reconstruction quality than either single frequency UMBIR or SAFT.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2021

On the Bandwidth and Beam Profile Characteristics of a Simple Low-Frequency Collimated Ultrasound Beam Source

We numerically investigate the bandwidth and collimation characteristics of ultrasound beams generated by a simple collimated ultrasound beam source that consists of a piezoelectric disk operated near its radial mode resonances. We simulate the ultrasound beam generated in a fluid medium as a function of the excitation frequency for two cases: (1) free piezoelectric disk that corresponds to zero-traction along the lateral edge and (2) fixed piezoelectric disk that corresponds to zero-displacement along the lateral edge. We present and discuss the physical mechanism underpinning the frequency-dependent collimation and bandwidth properties of the ultrasound beams. We observe that the collimated beam generated by the free disk repeatedly lengthens/shortens and also extends/retracts sidelobes with increasing frequency. Alternatively, fixing the piezoelectric disk results in a consistent beam profile shape across a broad range of frequencies. This facilitates generating broadband signals such as a Gaussian pulse or chirp, which are common in ultrasound imaging. Thus, the fixed piezoelectric disk finds application as a collimated ultrasound beam source in a wide range of applications including medical ultrasound imaging, scanning acoustic microscopy, sonar detection, and other nondestructive ultrasound inspection techniques.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

NASA NTRS1979

Collimation of high-speed flow with thermal spread losses

The operation of the neutral beam collimator designed for the mass spectrometer inlet system of the Space Shuttle Induced Environment Contamination Monitor system is discussed. The collimator will allow selective views of a 10 deg half-angle conical volume of space so that backscattered molecules from within this volume can be measured and related to the column densities of outgassing species. Gas molecules which enter the collimator but do not have a view from the entrance orifice to the exit are directed to a gas getter and eliminated. The loss of properly directed molecules in the collimator due to their thermal distribution is calculated for the case of a directed flow, which would occur when the collimator is pointed in the direction of motion of the spacecraft. Inlet to outlet flux ratios are also computed as a function of angle of attack.

Taeusch, D. R.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Large-aperture high-resolution X-ray collimator for the Solar Maximum Mission

A description is presented of a flight-qualified large-aperture 12 x 12-arcsec angular resolution multigrid X-ray collimator developed for the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) flat crystal spectrometer. This collimator, designed for the 1.4-22.4-A wavelength range, utilizes an optical bench/metering structure to align and support prealigned grid subassemblies. The optical bench is a lightweight, rigid, and stable aluminum honeycomb structure. The grids are of a compound and bimetallic design, having 63.5-micron square holes on an 88.9-micron spacing in 8-micron thick gold, which is in turn supported by a 76-micron thick Invar grid having 600-micron square holes on a 739-micron spacing. The small apertures in the gold provide the 12-arcsec collimation with the Invar grids providing wide angle off-axis blocking out to an approximately 35 arcmin view angle. The collimator has seven individual channels, four of a 5.1- x 10-cm area and three of a 1.3- x 10-cm area. Laboratory measurements gave an average angular resolution of 12.5 arcsec FWHM with 0.259 transmission for the large-area channels and 12.0 arcsec and 0.200 transmission for the small-area channels. A thermal filter composed of two layers of approximately 1000-A thick aluminum prevents solar heating of the front collimator grids by absorbing longer wavelength radiation while passing most of the X radiation in the band of interest.

Nobles, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

A new CT collimator for producing two simultaneous overlapping slices from one scan

A new CT collimator is developed which is capable of producing two simultaneous successive overlapping images from a single scan. The collimator represents a modification of the standard EMI 5005 collimator achieved by alternately masking one end or portions of both ends of the X-ray detectors at a 13-mm beamwidth so that a set of 540 filtered projections is obtained for each scan which can be separated into two sets of interleaved projections corresponding to views 3 mm apart. Tests have demonstrated that the quality of the images produced from these two projections almost equals the quality of those produced by the standard collimator from two separate scans. The new collimator may thus be used to achieve a speed improvement in the generation of overlapping sections as well as a reduction in X-ray dosage.

Kwoh, Y. S.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Novel data analysis method for obtaining better performance from a complex 3D-printed collimator

Additively manufactured scattered beam collimators are increasingly being employed to boost the sample to cell peak signal ratio in high pressure neutron diffraction studies because of manufacturing versatility and performance improvements. We study how the measured diffraction pattern is affected by the presence of a collimator downstream of the sample, and develop a novel protocol that provides more effective background rejection. This protocol takes into account critical performance-determinants that were identified in this study, namely: (i) effectively identifying the collimator pattern on the detector; (ii) understanding the dependence of this pattern on sample and cell composition; and (iii) accurately identifying and differentiating the different regions of the pattern on the detector based on the dependency of the cell or sample and finally (iv) resolving the intensities at regions of the detector where neutrons scattered from the sample are preferentially represented, in order to boost the sample to cell peak signal ratio. Application of this novel analysis protocol is shown to increase the collimator performance over the traditional method.

3D printing↗

DOE OSTI2018

Collimators and beam dumps for the APS-upgrade storage ring - 25478

Argonne's Advanced Photon Source is planning a major upgrade that will increase the storage ring current from the present 100 mA to 200 mA and decrease the beam lifetime due to high charge-per-bunch and substantially smaller transverse beam size. Collimators in the horizontal plane around the storage ring will be used to control beam losses. These collimators will also serve as whole beam dumps in cases where the stored beam must be dumped for machine protection. Another feature of the Upgrade is swap-out injection, in which a stored electron bunch will be extracted to a dedicated swap-out dump when its charge falls to about 90% of the initial value and immediately replaced with a new bunch. Since particle losses will be concentrated in these collimators and beam dumps, there is the potential for high dose rates around these locations and for activation of nearby accelerator components. This paper contains a brief summary of the APS Upgrade, discusses electron losses in the storage ring, and presents calculations of dose rates and induced activity around the collimators and beam dumps. (authors)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Hollow electron lenses for beam collimation at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC)

Electrons lenses produce a high-intensity electron beam and have a variety of applications to circular hadron accelerators. Electron beams of different transverse cross sections and distributions may be designed, depending on the desired application, and they are produced and steered along the orbit of the hadron beam, overlapping with it for typical distances of a few meters before being deflected away and disposed of. Hollow electron beams find applications to high-intensity beam collimation for machines like the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Such devices can be integrated in a collimation system to improve the halo-cleaning performance through an active control of the halo dynamics: the annular distribution of the electrons excites resonantly the beam tails surrounding the beam core, while the core itself remains unperturbed, as ideally it only “sees” the field-free “hole” in the electron distribution. Hollow electron lenses are part of the upgrade baseline of the High-Luminosity project of the LHC (HL-LHC) and will be installed in the machine during a long shutdown in 2025–2027 to mitigate effects from beam losses so to improve the collimation system performance. This paper describes the hollow electron lens project within the HL-LHC collimation upgrade.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Demonstration of a code coupling framework for modeling beam-collimator impacts in the advanced photon source

The high-brightness beams being produced in current and future accelerators present new machine protection concerns with the potential for high-energy-density (HED) conditions ( >100 J/mm 3 ) in beam-intercepting components. Simulating HED conditions in accelerators requires utilizing a suite of physics codes for particle dynamics, particle-matter interactions, and hydrodynamics. This paper describes a method of coupling the codes elegant, fluka, and flash to simulate the effects of a rapid beam loss in the advanced photon source storage ring and the resulting interaction of the beam and collimators. This paper expands previous work [J. Dooling et al., Collimator irradiation studies at the advanced photon source, in Proceedings of the IBIC-2023 (2023), pp. 245–249] by introducing a definition of the evolving geometry of the collimator surface as well as providing methods for simulating the absorption of synchrotron radiation and tracking shower particles produced during beam strikes. We demonstrate this framework by simulating machine conditions of the APS ring before and after its recent upgrade. Simulation results are compared with observed damage to collimators and test samples taken from the APS ring.

Accelerator/storage ring control systems↗

DOE OSTI2022

Model-Based Reconstruction for Collimated Beam Ultrasound Systems

Collimated beam ultrasound systems are a novel technology for imaging inside multi-layered structures such as geothermal wells. Such systems include a transmitter and multiple receivers to capture reflected signals. Common algorithms for ultrasound reconstruction use delay-and-sum (DAS) approaches; these have low computational complexity but produce inaccurate images in the presence of complex structures and specialized geometries such as collimated beams.In this paper, we propose a multi-layer, ultrasonic, model-based iterative reconstruction algorithm designed for collimated beam systems. We introduce a physics-based forward model to accurately ac-count for the propagation of a collimated ultrasonic beam in multi-layer media and describe an efficient implementation using binary search. We model direct arrival signals, detector noise, and a spatially varying image prior, then cast the reconstruction as a maximum a posteriori estimation problem. Using simulated and experimental data we obtain significantly fewer artifacts relative to DAS while running in near real time using commodity compute resources.

Alanazi, Abdulrahman M.↗