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At least 1,207 records · Page 67

Intense Neutrino Source Front End Beam Diagnostics System R&D

We overview the front end beam diagnostic system R&D to prepare operation of a multi-MW proton beam for intensity frontier Neutrino experiments. One of critical issues is shorter life time of a detector with higher beam intensity due to radiation damage. We show a possible improvement of the existing ion chamber based detector, and a study of a conceptually new radiation-robust detector which is based on a gas-filled RF resonator.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Theoretical and Experimental Studies in Accelerator Physics

This report describes research supported by the US Dept. of Energy Office of High Energy Physics (OHEP), performed by the UCLA Particle Beam Physics Laboratory (PBPL). The UCLA PBPL has, over the last two decades-plus, played a critical role in the development of advanced accelerators, fundamental beam physics, and new applications enabled by these thrusts, such as new types of accelerator-based light sources. As the PBPL mission is broad it is natural that it has been grown within the context of the accelerator science and technology stewardship of the OHEP. Indeed, steady OHEP support for the program has always been central to the success of the PBPL; it has provided stability, and above all has set the over-arching themes for our research directions, which have producing over 500 publications (>120 in high level journals). While other agency support has grown notably in recent years, permitting more vigorous pursuit of the program, it is transient by comparison. Beyond permitting program growth in a time of flat OHEP budgets, the influence of other agency missions is found in push to adapt advanced accelerator methods to applications, in light of the success the field has had in proof-of-principle experiments supported first by the DoE OHEP. This three-pronged PBPL program — advanced accelerators, fundamental beam physics and technology, and revolutionary applications — has produced a generation of students that have had a profound affect on the US accelerator physics community. PBPL graduates, numbering 28 in total, form a significant population group in the accelerator community, playing key roles as university faculty, scientific leaders in national labs (two have been named Panofsky Fellows at SLAC), and vigorous proponents of industrial application of accelerators. Indeed, the development of advanced RF, optical and magnet technology at the PBPL has led directly to the spin-off company, RadiaBeam Technologies, now a leading industrial accelerator firm. We note also that PBPL graduates remain as close elaborators for the program after leaving UCLA. The UCLA PBPL program is a foremost developer of on-campus facilities, such as the Neptune and Pegasus Laboratories, providing a uniquely strong environment for student-based research. In addition, the PBPL is a strong user of off-campus national lab facilities, such as SLAC FACET and NLCTA, and the BNL ATF. UCLA has also vigorously participated in the development of these facilities. The dual emphases on off- and on-campus opportunities permit the PBPL to address in an agile way a wide selection of cutting-edge research topics. The topics embraced by this proposal illustrate this program aspect well. These include: GV/m dielectric wakefield acceleration/coherent Cerenkov radiation experiments at FACET (E-201) and the ATF; synergistic laser-excited dielectric accelerator and light source development; plasma wakefield (PWFA) experiments on “Trojan horse” ionization injection (FACET E-210), quasi-nonlinear PWFA at BNL and the production at Neptune high transformer ratio plasma wakes; the inauguration of a new type of RF photoinjector termed “hybrid” at UCLA, and application to PWFA; space-charge dominated beam and cathode/near cathode physics; the study of advanced IFEL systems, for very high energy gain and utilization of novel OAM modes; the physcis of inverse Compton scattering (ICS), with applications to e+ production and γγ colliders; electron diffraction; and advanced beam diagnostics using coherent imaging techniques. These subjects are addressed under the leadership of PBPL director Prof. James Rosenzweig in Task A, and Prof. Pietro Musumeci in Task J, which was initiated following his OHEP Outstanding Junior Investigator award.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Recent performance and ignition tests of the pulsed SNS H{sup −} source for 1-MW neutron production

After acquiring several reliable spare targets, SNS ramped the beam power from 850 kW to 1.4 MW, which required an increase in H{sup −} beam pulse length from 0.88 to 1.0 ms at 60 Hz. This increase initially produced slow 2-MHz power ramp-ups and, after several weeks of uninterrupted operation, it produced plasma outages every time the pulse length was raised above ∼0.95 ms. Similar outages were previously observed towards the end of long service cycles, which were believed to indicate that the breakdown voltage of the high purity hydrogen started to exceed the induced electric fields. In 2011 the RF was reconfigured to start with 10 cycles of 1.96 MHz, which yielded the shortest H{sup −} beam rise times and apparently eliminated those plasma outages. The new, pulse-length dependent outages were eliminated by increasing the initial frequency to 1.985 MHz. However, careful frequency studies are unable to justify this frequency. In addition, the paper discusses the issues and solutions for the electron-dump voltage, which starts to sag and become unstable after several weeks of high current operation. At the request of the authors and the Proceedings Editor this article has been updated to include References 3–13, which were present in the author’s original submission but were lost during manuscript processing in the Proceedings Editor's office. The updated article was published on 5 May 2015.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Diagnostics of a negative hydrogen ion source based on a planar-coil inductively-driven discharge

Recent activity on a volume-production negative-hydrogen-ion source with the design of a matrix of small-radius discharges inductively driven by a planar coil is reported. A single discharge of the matrix has been studied by employing probe-and laser-photodetachment diagnostics. The measurements have been carried out in the first - small-size - chamber of a two-chamber discharge vessel, with rf power introduced by a planar coil positioned on its front wall. The measured profiles of the negative ion density show strong axial dependence, with two maxima located at the positions corresponding to the maxima of the dc potential, where the maxima of the electron density are also located. The first maximum is in the vicinity of the rf power input and the second one is close to the interface between the two chambers of the discharge vessel.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Field Emission in Superconducting Accelerators: Instrumented Measurements for Its Understanding and Mitigation

Several new accelerator projects are adopting superconducting accelerator technology. When accelerating cavities maintain high RF gradients, field emission, the emission of electrons from cavity walls, can occur and may impact operational cavity gradient, radiological environment via activated components, and reliability. In this talk, we will discuss instrumented measurements of field emission from the two 1.1 GeV superconducting continuous wave (CW) linacs in CEBAF. The goal is to improve the understanding of field emission sources originating from cryomodule production, installation and operation. Such basic knowledge is needed in guiding field emission control, mitigation, and reduction toward high gradient and reliable operation of superconducting accelerators.

Geng, Rongli↗

Final Technical Report for Grant No. DE-FC02-01ER54648, SciDAC Center for Simulation of Wave-Plasma Interactions

Harnessing the energy that is released in fusion reactions would provide a safe and abundant source of power to meet the growing energy needs of the world population. The next step toward the development of fusion as a practical energy source is the construction of ITER, a device capable of producing and controlling the high performance plasma required for self-sustaining fusion reactions, or “burning” plasma. The input power required to drive the ITER plasma into the burning regime will be supplied primarily with a combination of external power from radio frequency waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies and energetic ions from neutral beam injection sources, in addition to internally-generated Ohmic heating from the induced plasma current that also serves to create the magnetic equilibrium for the discharge. Since the success of the ITER project depends critically on the ability to create and maintain burning plasma conditions, it is absolutely necessary to have physics-based models that can accurately simulate the RF processes that affect the dynamical evolution of the ITER discharge. The Center for Simulation of Wave-Plasma Interactions (CSWPI) is a multi-institutional collaboration that has conducted ongoing research aimed at developing: (1) Coupled core-to-edge simulations that will lead to an increased understanding of parasitic losses of the applied RF power in the boundary plasma between the RF antenna and the core plasma; (2) Development of models for core interactions of RF waves with energetic electrons and ions (including fusion alpha particles and fast neutral beam ions) that include a more accurate representation of the particle dynamics in the combined equilibrium and wave fields; and (3) Development of improved algorithms that will take advantage of massively parallel computing platforms at the petascale level and beyond to achieve the needed physics, resolution, and/or statistics to address these issues. This research reported in this final technical report is focused on further verification and validation of simulation models for interactions of RF waves with energetic particles in the core with a long term goal of assessing their readiness for inclusion in integrated modeling frameworks and utilizing the world’s largest supercomputers to quantitatively predict the detailed electric field structure in the vicinity of the launching structures.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Dynamic switch matrix for the TDMA satellite switching system

Future high capacity satellite communication systems require signal processing on board satellites. The on-board signal processing includes switching of RF signals between multiple antennas to provide interconnection between the uplink and downlink beams. This paper describes the development of a dynamic switch matrix for a TDMA satellite switching system to be used in the next generation communications satellites. In this paper, a dynamic switch matrix, which includes the microwave switch matrix, the distribution control unit and the timing source, will be described. Several different microwave switch matrix architectures and switching devices were evaluated and compared. A unique coupler crossbar switch matrix architecture with dual-gate field effect transistor as switching element was developed. Experimental results of both microwave switch matrix (MSM) and distribution control unit (DCU) are presented. These test results verify the MSM with coupler crossbar architecture and dual-gate FET as switching element will meet the future SS-TDMA system requirements. Finally, the reliability of the dynamic switch matrix is addressed. The analysis shows reliability of 0.9981 for 7 year space operation can be achieved for the designed dynamic switch matrix.

Ho, P. T.↗

New MBE buffer for micron- and quarter-micron-gateGaAs MESFETs

A new buffer layer has been developed that eliminates backgating in GaAs MESFETs and substantially reduces short-channel effects in GaAs MESFETs with 0.27-micron-long gates. The new buffer is grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at a substrate temperature of 200 C using Ga and As sub 4 beam fluxes. The buffer is crystalline, highly resistive, optically inactive, and can be overgrown with high quality GaAs. GaAs MESFETs with a gate length of 0.27 microns that incorporate the new buffer show improved dc and RF properties in comparison with a similar MESFET with a thin undoped GaAs buffer. To demonstrate the backgating performance improvement afforded by the new buffer, MESFETs were fabricated using a number of different buffer layers and structures. A schematic cross section of the MESFET structure used in this study is shown. The measured gate length, gate width, and source-drain spacing of this device are 2,98, and 5.5 microns, respectively. An ohmic contact, isolated from the MESFET by mesa etching, served as the sidegate. The MESFETs were fabricated in MBE n-GaAs layers grown on the new buffer and also in MBE n-GaAs layers grown on buffer layers of undoped GaAs, AlGaAs, and GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices. All the buffer layers were grown by MBE and are 2 microns thick. The active layer is doped to approximately 2 x 10 to the 17th/cu cm with silicon and is 0.3 microns thick.

Source record↗

Higher Order Modes Damping and Multipacting Analysis for the SPX Deflecting Cavity in APS Upgrade

A single-cell superconducting deflecting cavity operating at 2.815 GHz has been proposed and designed for the Short Pulse X-ray (SPX) project for the Advanced Photon Source (APS) upgrade. Each deflecting cavity is equipped with one fundamental power coupler (FPC), one lower order mode (LOM) coupler, and two higher order mode (HOM) couplers to achieve the stringent damping requirements for the unwanted modes. Using the electromagnetic simulation suite ACE3P, HOM damping will be calculated for the cavity including the full engineering design waveguide configurations and rf windows. Trapped modes in the bellows located in the beampipes connecting the cavities in a cryomodule will be computed and their effects on heating evaluated. Furthermore, multipacting activities at the end groups of the cavity will be identified to assess possible problems during high power processing.

Li, Z.↗

Topochemical Synthesis and Electronic Structure of High-Crystallinity Infinite-Layer Nickelates on an Orthorhombic Substrate

Superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates has stirred much research interest, to which questions regarding the nature of superconductivity remain elusive. A critical leap forward to address these intricate questions is through the growth of high-crystallinity infinite-layer nickelates, including the “parent” phase. Here, we report the synthesis of a high-quality thin-film nickelate, NdNiO 2 . This is achieved through the growth of a perovskite precursor phase (NdNiO 3 ) of superior crystallinity on the NdGaO 3 substrate by off-axis RF magnetron sputtering and a low-temperature topochemical reduction using NaH. We observe a nonlinear Hall effect at low temperatures in this “non-doped” phase. We further study the electronic properties using advanced X-ray scattering and first-principles calculations. We observe spectroscopic indications of the enhanced two-dimensionality and a reduced hybridization of Nd 5d and Ni 3d orbitals. These findings unlock new pathways for preparing high-quality infinite-layer nickelates and provide new insights into the intrinsic features of these compounds.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Time-resolved pump-probe experiments at the LCLS

The first time-resolved x-ray/optical pump-probe experiments at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) used a combination of feedback methods and post-analysis binning techniques to synchronize an ultrafast optical laser to the linac-based x-ray laser. Transient molecular nitrogen alignment revival features were resolved in time-dependent x-ray-induced fragmentation spectra. These alignment features were used to find the temporal overlap of the pump and probe pulses. The strong-field dissociation of x-ray generated quasi-bound molecular dications was used to establish the residual timing jitter. This analysis shows that the relative arrival time of the Ti:Sapphire laser and the x-ray pulses had a distribution with a standard deviation of approximately 120 fs. The largest contribution to the jitter noise spectrum was the locking of the laser oscillator to the reference RF of the accelerator, which suggests that simple technical improvements could reduce the jitter to better than 50 fs.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

A NEW CONCEPT FOR HIGH POWER RF COUPLING BETWEEN WAVEGUIDES AND RESONANT RF CAVITIES

Microwave engineering of high average-power (hundreds of kilowatts) devices often involves a transition from a waveguide to a device, typically a resonant cavity. This is a basic operation, which finds use in various application areas of significance to science and industry. At relatively low frequencies, L-band and below, it is convenient, sometimes essential, to couple the power between the waveguide and the cavity through a coaxial antenna, forming a power coupler. Power flow to the cavity in the fundamental mode leads to a Fundamental Power Coupler (FPC). High-order mode power generated in the cavity by a particle beam leads to a high-order mode power damper. Coupling a cryogenic device, such as a superconducting cavity to a room temperature power source (or damp) leads to additional constraints and challenges. We propose a new approach to this problem, wherein the coax line element is operated in a TE11 mode rather than the conventional TEM mode. We will show that this method leads to a significant increase in the power handling capability of the coupler as well as a few other advantages. As a result, we describe the mode converter from the waveguide to the TE11 coax line, outline the characteristics and performance limits of the coupler and provide a detailed worked out example in the challenging area of coupling to a superconducting accelerator cavity.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Physical and technical basis of Materials Plasma Exposure eXperiment from modeling and Proto-MPEX results *

Abstract The Materials Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) is a steady-state linear plasma device that will address plasma-material interaction (PMI) science and enable testing of fusion reactor-relevant divertor plasma-facing materials. The MPEX source concept consists of a helicon plasma source to generate the plasma, electron cyclotron heating (ECH) for electron heating, and ion cyclotron heating (ICH) for ion heating. The MPEX source plasma is then transported axially to the PMI material target region to test material samples in fusion reactor-relevant divertor conditions. This paper will summarize the physical and technical basis of MPEX. The paper will first define the MPEX parameters and scenarios at the target relevant to PMI science for various fusion reactor-relevant divertor conditions and show plasma transport modeling results to set the MPEX source parameters. Recent experimental and modeling results from Proto-MPEX, a short-pulse experiment to develop the plasma production, heating, and transport physics for MPEX, will be shown. From these results, it will be shown that MPEX can reach its desired scenarios. The MPEX physical and technical basis will also determine important functional requirements for magnetic field, radiofrequency (RF) power, RF frequency, and neutral pressure in the helicon, ECH, ICH, and PMI regions that are required to achieve the desired MPEX scenarios. The necessity for key in-vessel components such as skimmers, limiters, and microwave absorbers will also be highlighted.

Lau, C. (ORCID:0000000285765867)↗

Extremum Seeking-Based Control System for Particle Accelerator Beam Loss Minimization

Particle accelerators throughout the world vary widely in terms of age and availability of advanced noninvasive diagnostics that provide varying levels of detail about the accelerated beams. Additionally, beam loss measurements and current monitors are ubiquitous in the accelerator community, they are noninvasive, and they are some of the most important metrics in terms of preventing damage or irradiation of beam pipes and equipment for high-energy machines. However, beam loss and current measurements are difficult to use for feedback tuning because of a lack of a known analytic relationship between scalar loss measurements throughout an accelerator and the hundreds of thousands of parameters that influence the beam and time variation of the beam source itself. In this work, we present a model-independent extremum seeking (ES) controller, which has been implemented for automated tuning and optimization of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) linear ion accelerator based only on scalar quantities, such as beam loss or flux measurements. We demonstrate the approach on various accelerator subsystems, including groups of radio frequency (RF) accelerating cavities, quadrupole magnets, bending magnets, and steering magnets. This tool is now available as a use graphical user interface (GUI) in the LANSCE control room, allowing beam physicists to choose arbitrary groups of parameters and beam loss or current monitors for adaptive tuning.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Status and availability of FCC hardware

The source availability of FCC and/or FCC connectors was surveyed. The results for the following areas are presented: (1) cost of FCC versus standard round cable, (2) qualification status, (3) size of wire available in FCC, (4) availability of hermetic connectors for FCC, (5) conversion from flat cable to round cable and visa versa, (6) availability of shielded flat cable for RF usage, (7) termination techniques, and (8) repair techniques.

Romriell, G. K.↗

Microwave power - An energy transmission alternative for the year 2000

Recent technological advances related to the feasibility of efficient RF-dc rectification make it likely that by the year 2000 the transmission of power through space will have become a practical reality. Proposals have been made to power helicopters, aircraft, balloons, and rockets remotely. Other proposals consider the transfer of power from point to point on earth via relay through space or a transmission of power from large power sources in space. Attention has also been given to possibilities regarding the transmission of power between various points in the solar system. An outline is provided of the microwave power transmission system envisaged for the solar power satellite, taking into account the transmitting antenna, the receiver on earth, aspects of beam formation and control, transmitter options, the receiving antenna design, and cost and efficiency considerations.

Nalos, E.↗

Coupled Opto-Electronic Oscillators

These experiments demonstrate that COEOs are promising compact sources for generating low jitter optical pulses and low phase noise RF/millimeter wave signals.

opto-electronic oscillator (COEO) ring laser mode-↗