Operation of the Superconducting RF System at TLS

Abstract

The Taiwan Light Source (TLS) is the first dedicated synchrotron light source facility that used a superconducting RF cavity to upgrade its existing RF system. More then one year has passed since the superconducting RF cavity was successfully integrated with the existing RF subsystem for routine operation. The operating status shows that the superconducting RF (SRF) system has effectively suppressed the instabilities of the beam that are caused by the interaction of the electron beam with the higher‐order‐modes of the cavity. The original goal of doubling the photon intensity has been reached by applying top‐up mode injection at the beam current of 300 mA. However, compared to the original RF system, the beam loading is much higher, and the frequency of the superconducting cavity is also more easily perturbed by the mechanical vibrations. Those make the operation of the SRF system facing the challenge on the machine reliability, especially for a dedicated synchrotron light source facility. Here we report the operating status of the SRF system, analyze the trip sources, and present our efforts to improve the machine reliability and performance since the SRF system began routine operation.