Beam Screen Research Articles

Shielded Pair Method for Beam Screen Surface Resistance Measurement at Cryogenic Temperature

The shielded pair resonator method is a useful tool in the measurement of accelerator components, such as the beam screens used in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the High-Luminosity (HL) LHC, or future accelerators. It can measure the resistive losses at several frequency points by separating the resistive losses on the sample from other sources of losses. We built a new resonator to be inserted into a superconducting dipole magnet (peak magnetic field of 9.5 T) and to measure the surface resistance of beam screens, such as LHC beam screens coated with amorphous carbon (a-C). The device can measure surface resistance at any temperature between 4.2 K and 300 K, in the frequency range of 400 MHz to 1600 MHz. We conducted the first surface resistance measurements of two a-C coated beam screens at 4.2 K and showed that the 200 nm to 400 nm titanium underlayer plus 50 nm a-C only has a limited effect on the surface resistance. This first result supports the choice of this coating as baseline for the HL-LHC triplets magnets upgrade. The resonator will have an important role in the characterization of next-generation beam screens, such as a beam screen with laser-engineered surface structure (LESS). Further measurements of the LHC beam screen in the presence of magnetic fields up to 9.5 T and throughout the full temperature range are going to be reported separately.

Modelling laser modified secondary electron yield response of surfaces

Electron clouds hinder the operation of particle accelerators. In the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the copper beam screens are located within close proximity to the beam path, resulting in beam-induced electron multipacting, which is the main source of electron cloud formation. Conditions for multipacting are encountered when such surfaces have a secondary electron yield (SEY) greater than unity. Roughening the surface through laser processing offers an effective solution for reducing secondary electrons. Laser ablation leaves behind a complex rough, multi-scale geometrical surface with an altered chemical composition. Current models often over-simplify the geometry, do not have sufficient experimental data to derive input parameters, and exclude SEY-reducing mechanisms such as the surface chemistry. Leading to electron-matter interactions which do not resemble that of a real surface. Here, this complex surface is studied on copper used in the LHC, and the influence of microgeometry, inhomogeneous nanostructure and complex surface chemistry on the SEY is investigated. A novel, improved model is proposed that characterises these sophisticated structures, enabling the efficient design of surfaces to reduce SEY. To validate the model, samples were made using a variety of laser parameters. Modelling insights revealed that secondary electron suppression is not only caused by the microgeometry but also the nanostructure and chemical modification play a role. Contrary to the conventional theory, high aspect ratio structures are not necessarily required for effective SEY reduction. Currently, the model is applicable to a variety of surface morphologies and could be employed for other materials.

FELICIA - A probe to survey the RHIC magnet beampipe diameter for EIC beam screen insertion

The Electron Ion Collider (EIC) Hadron Storage Ring (HSR) will reuse many of the existing superconducting (SC) magnets of the RHIC storage rings. To comply with the beamline vacuum requirements in more demanding operational scenarios, the beampipe of the RHIC SC magnets will be equipped with low surface impedance, low secondary electron yield (SEY) beam screens. The installation of these beam screens will be done with the SC magnets as installed today, thus making it a critical operation for a timely EIC installation. The beam screen inner dimensions must be maximized to retain enough aperture to the beam. On the other hand, keeping enough clearance between the screen and the beampipe is critical to ensure a smooth beam screen installation. A survey probe was designed and built to measure the inner diameter of several RHIC SC magnets in-situ and provide critical data for the beam screen design optimization. This paper reports on the design of the probe and the results from the survey campaign.

Evaluation of the impact of REBCO-coated conductors on the resistive wall impedance of the FCC-hh

The beam screen for the Future Circular hadron-hadron Collider (FCC-hh) has a baseline design based on a copper (Cu) coating. Calculations have indicated that the resistive wall impedance will be the major contributor to the beam impedance for the FCC-hh at both injection and collision and that Cu loss might be on the limit to ensure beam stability. To increase the safety margin, it is desirable to reduce the resistive wall impedance. In this contribution, we present an approach to reduce the beam impedance based on the reduction of the surface resistance of the beam screen coating by using High-Temperature Superconductors based on REBaCu3O7−x coated conductors (REBCO-CCs). These HTS-CCs have transition temperatures around 90 K, and critical current densities which are high enough even in the presence of a strong magnetic field, being therefore, good candidates to substitute Cu in the FCC-hh beam screen, which will be operating at around 50 K and under a magnetic field of 16 T. Using measured data of the surface impedance of REBCO-CCs, the beam impedance has been estimated for an elliptical beam screen with the same vertical dimension as that of the baseline design. A REBCO-CCs contribution dependence study to determine the optimum beam screen will be shown. Resistive wall impedance studies using an ellipse are a step forward towards determining the performance of the REBCO-CCs on the FCC-hh beam screen.

Operational experience of a low beam coupling impedance injection kicker magnet for the CERN SPS ring

The CERN SPS injection kicker magnets (MKP) were developed in the 1970’s, before beam power deposition was considered an issue. There are two types of these magnets in the SPS: MKP-S (small aperture) and MKP-L (large aperture) versions. The MKP-L magnets are very lossy from a beam impedance perspective: this would be an issue during SPS operation with the higher intensity beams needed in the future for HL-LHC. Hence, a beam screen has been developed, which is inserted in the aperture of each MKP-L module. The screen consists of silver fingers applied to alumina U-shaped chambers: the fingers have been optimized to achieve both adequately low beam induced power deposition and good high voltage (HV) behaviour. A surface coating, with a low secondary electron yield, is applied to the inner surface of the alumina chambers to reduce dynamic vacuum. The low-impedance MKP-L has been extensively HV tested in the lab before installation in the SPS. This paper briefly presents the design and focuses on the operational experience in the SPS, including heating and vacuum.

Design of a Compact Hologram System Capable of 3D Lesion Diagnosis in Clinic.

This paper proposes a small-sized hologram system for the 3D imaging of lesions in a clinical environment. In a general hologram system, the distance between the beam-generating device and the screen (400mm) and the size of the screen must be increased proportionally to obtain excellent image quality. However, in a clinical environment, the beam spread distance and screen size must be reduced. This paper proposes a method for reducing the beam divergence distance and screen size for clinical applications. To reduce the beam spread distance and screen size, a beam prism with a 45° refractive index is used to reduce the beam spread distance by 1/3. The direction of the bent light must be adjusted such that it can reach the screen accurately. However, because the reflected light may be refracted owing to the material properties of the mirror and cause loss, this problem can be solved by using a full reflection mirror. The beam spread distance of the designed hologram system is 200mm. The types of lesions obtained from the 3D images of the hologram include the lung, liver, and colon. The image resolution is 300 × 145. If the proposed method is used in a clinical environment, doctors can improve their understanding of the patient quickly and efficiently; thereby, shortening the treatment time. The proposed hologram system is expected to be useful in treatment rooms, operating rooms, and educational programs in medical schools.

Performance of high-temperature superconducting REBCO coated conductors under synchrotron irradiation for future circular colliders

The influence of medium-to-high energy synchrotron radiation (SR) (≈10–100 keV) produced by the ALBA Synchrotron Light Source on state-of-the-art REBCO coated conductors (CCs) has been studied to assess the feasibility of using high-temperature superconductors for the beam screen of future circular colliders. Long-term irradiation studies were conducted with ex-situ surface resistance testing by using a dielectric resonator. In addition, a cryogenic test system was established for in-situ measurements of the critical temperature and surface impedance of REBCO-CCs during synchrotron irradiation, with intensities similar to or above those generated by proton beams circulating in the vacuum chamber in the future circular collider hadron–hadron design. It is shown that the SR impact does not introduce any macroscopic defects that permanently alter the critical temperature or surface impedance of REBCO-CCs. However, the most significant effect of SR is a transient increase in the REBCO’s surface impedance. This effect is likely caused by heat, as the material returns to its original impedance values once the radiation exposure stops. The correlation between the time structure of the SR and the possibility of suppressing the Cooper pairing mechanism is also discussed.

Electron Beam Characterization of REBCO-Coated Conductors at Cryogenic Conditions

Particle accelerators with superconducting magnets operating at cryogenic temperatures use a beam screen (BS) liner that extracts heat generated by the circulating bunched charge particle beam before it can reach the magnets. The BS surface, commonly made of high–conductivity copper, provides a low impedance for beam stability reasons, low secondary electron yield (SEY) to mitigate the electron–cloud (EC) effect, and low electron–stimulated desorption yield (ESD) to limit the dynamic pressure rise due to EC. Rare–earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) high–temperature superconductors (HTSs) recently reached technical maturity, are produced as coated conductor tapes (REBCO–CCs), and will be considered for application in future colliders to decrease the BS impedance and enable operation at around 50 K, consequently relaxing the cryogenic requirements. Aside from HTS properties, industry–grade REBCO–CCs also need qualification for EC and dynamic vacuum compatibility under accelerator–like conditions. Hence, we report the SEY and ESD measured at cryogenic temperatures of 12 K under low–energy electron irradiation of 0–1.4 keV. We also verify the sample compositions and morphologies using the XPS, SEM, and EDS methods. The energy and dose dependencies of ESD are comparable to those of technical–grade metals and one sample reached SEYMAX = 1.2 after electron conditioning.

Field quality and surface resistance studies of a superconducting REBa2Cu3O7−x —Cu hybrid coating for the FCC beam screen

To ensure beam stability in the future circular collider study of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, RE(=Y, Gd, Eu)Ba2Cu3O 7−x high-temperature superconductor was proposed as a low-surface impedance coating for its beam screen. Unfortunately, persistent currents in the superconductor will degrade the magnetic field homogeneity inside the beam chamber, endangering the stability of the beam trajectory. To counteract this effect, we have explored the possibility of using a highly conductive hybrid coating made of Cu and REBa2Cu3O 7−x . This decreases the surface impedance when compared to that of pure copper, while maintaining high magnetic field quality inside the beam screen chamber. This work formulates guidelines for hybrid coating geometries to comply with the field quality criterion of a circular accelerator during operation with dipole magnets by means of finite elements numerical analysis. We produced hybrid coating samples with compliant geometries via photolithography. Scanning Hall microscopy and radio-frequency characterization have given the first experimental confirmation that these hybrid coatings offer high field quality and present a surface resistance lower than that of copper for the beam screen of the future circular hadron collider. The excellent agreement shown between experimental results and simulations validates that the numerical analysis performed throughout this work can be used as a prediction tool for future proposed geometries.

Influence of wavelength and accumulated fluence at picosecond laser-induced surface roughening of copper on secondary electron yield

Ultrashort-pulse laser processing of copper is performed in air to reduce the secondary electron yield (SEY). By UV (355 nm), green (532 nm), and IR (1064 nm) laser-light induced surface modification, this study investigates the influence of the most relevant experimental parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed, and scanning line distance (represented as accumulated fluence) on the ablation depth, surface oxidation, topography, and ultimately on the SEY. Increasing the accumulated laser fluence results in a gradual change from a Cu2O to a CuO-dominated surface with deeper micrometer trenches, higher density of redeposited surface particles from the plasma phase, and a reduced SEY. While the surface modifications are less pronounced for IR radiation at low accumulated fluence (<1000 J/cm2), analogous results are obtained for all wavelengths when reaching the nonlinear absorption regime, for which the SEY maximum converges to 0.7. Furthermore, independent of the extent of the structural transformations, an electron-induced surface conditioning at 250 eV allows a reduction of the SEY maximum below unity at doses of 5×10-4 C/mm2. Consequently, optimization of processing parameters for application in particle accelerators can be obtained for a sufficiently low SEY at controlled ablation depth and surface particle density, which are factors that limit the surface impedance and the applicability of the material processing for ultrahigh vacuum systems. The relations between processing parameters and surface features will provide guidance in treating the surface of vacuum components, especially beam screens of selected magnets of the Large Hadron Collider or of future colliders.

Origin and mitigation of the beam-induced surface modifications of the LHC beam screens

All over Run 2, the LHC beam-induced heat load on the cryogenic system exhibited a wide scattering along the ring. Studies ascribed the heat source to electron cloud build-up, indicating an unexpected high Secondary Electron Yield (SEY) of the beam screen surface in some LHC regions. The inner copper surface of high and low heat load beam screens, extracted during the Long Shutdown 2, was analysed. On the low heat load ones, the surface was covered with the native Cu2O oxide, while on the high heat load ones CuO dominated at surface, and it exhibited a very low carbon coverage. Such chemical modifications increase the SEY and inhibit a proper conditioning of the affected surfaces. Following this characterisation, the mechanisms for CuO build-up in the LHC beam pipe were investigated on a newly commissioned cryogenic system allowing electron irradiation, surface chemical characterisation by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and SEY measurements on samples held below 15 K. In parallel, curative solutions against the presence of CuO in the LHC beam screens were explored, which could be implemented in-situ to recover a proper conditioning and lower the beam-induced heat load.

Beam-based reconstruction of the shielded quench-heater fields for the LHC main dipoles

Small orbit oscillations of the circulating particle beams have been observed immediately following quenches in the LHC’s superconducting main dipole magnets. Magnetic fields generated during the discharge into the quench heaters were identified as the cause. Since the resulting, shielded field inside the beam screen cannot be measured in-situ, the time evolution of the field has to be reconstructed from the measured beam excursions.In this paper, the field-reconstruction method using rotation in normalized phase space and the optimized fitting algorithm are described. The resulting rise times and magnetic field levels are presented for quench events that occurred during regular operation as well as for dedicated beam experiments. Finally, different approaches to model the shielding behavior of the beam screen are discussed.

Potential impedance reduction by REBCO-coated conductors as beam screen coating for the Future Circular Hadron Collider

The Future Circular Collider study creates a conceptual design for a post-LHC particle accelerator using 16 T superconducting dipoles to achieve collision energies of up to 100 TeV in a 90 km circumference ring. A copper-coated beam screen, similar to that used in the LHC, is planned. However, the undertaken research indicates that copper at the high working temperature of 50 K has a strong influence on the accelerator's performance, particularly at injection energy. In this work, we relate the experimentally determined properties of REBCO-coated conductors with their potential performance in the FCC-hh beam screen. Specifically, we use a round pipe approximation to demonstrate that a beam screen coated with a combination of REBCO and copper can have a much lower resistive wall impedance than one using only copper. The reduction is substantial (several orders of magnitude), and is observed in both the longitudinal and transverse wall impedance. Such a reduction has important effects on beam stability, operating costs, potential reduction in beam screen size, and lowering the stringent specifications of the 16 T magnets required for the Future Circular Hadron Collider.

Improved Design of a Monochromatic beam Screen Monitor for Taiwan Photon Source Beamlines

An X-ray phosphor screen is a standard component at beamlines of Taiwan Photon Source (TPS). It responds to x-rays, re-emitting the energy as visible light. This screen is used as a tool for the coarse alignment of the synchrotron beam. The development of TPS beamlines proceeds to Phase III. Based on the user feedback of Phases I and II, we redesigned the x-ray phosphor screen and utilized it as a fourth screen at beamline TPS 19A. It has a greater ratio of signal to noise than the existing screens and was successfully commissioned in 2021. We plan to introduce it at TPS phase-III beamlines.

Low-Frequency Analytical Model of Superconducting Magnet Impedance

A superconducting magnet for particle accelerators is often modeled as an ideal inductor, as it indeed exhibits a completely negligible resistance; this is fully satisfactory, as an example, for control purposes, as the time constant formed by the magnet inductance and the resistance of normal conducting cables connecting it to the power converter accurately describe the essentially dominant dynamics of the circuit. Such a model would however fail to correctly represent the noise attenuation mechanism at play in practical superconducting magnets, which also include a vacuum pipe or a beam screen in the inner part of the aperture, an iron yoke on the outer part, and, potentially, a stainless steel or aluminum collar in between. Even at relatively low frequencies, a more accurate model is therefore needed. A sufficiently general one is proposed and illustrated.

Electron conditioning of technical surfaces at cryogenic and room temperature in the 0–1 keV energy range

In the superconducting magnets of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, most of the beam-induced heat load is intercepted by a beam-screen (BS) cryogenically cooled to 5–20 K. When circulating the bunched proton beam, an electron cloud (EC) can form and bombard the BS copper surface with high doses of predominantly low-energy electrons, which desorb gas and consequently increase the pressure. The beam-induced pressure rise decreases during operation as the electron irradiation diminishes the secondary electron yield (SEY) and the electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) yield, a phenomenon referred to as ‘beam conditioning’. Low ESD and SEY values achieved rapidly are requisite to mitigate EC and maintain UHV in storage rings. We report data on ESD and SEY electron conditioning completed at cryogenic temperature with 0–1 keV electrons up to an electron dose of 5.10−3 C mm−2. Our results show that SEY conditioning depends on the primary electron energy and also that ESD yield significantly decreases with temperature. At 15 K, the amorphous-carbon coating and laser-treated copper present SEY below 1.1 and have initial ESD yields 3–6 times lower than OFE copper. Our results conform to the SEY and ESD's general understanding and extend it towards cryogenic temperatures.

Preliminary consideration of the beam screen for the super proton-proton collider

This study evaluates the functional requirements of the Super Proton-proton Collider (SPPC) beam screen in view of the CEPC-SPPC project about to be built in China and aims to prove the feasibility of using the scaled FCC-type beam screen. Moreover, the study puts forward several feasible updated schemes with extra-cooling to optimize the cryogenic efficiency under the 12.8 W/m synchrotron radiation (SR) heat load and decrease the leaked SR power to the cold bore. The power distribution calculated by Synrad+ is imported into the Ansys workbench to get the exact thermal profile. The results show that the new scheme can restrict the temperature rise within 1 K, with a 30 g/s mass flow rate of the coolants. Such a profile can save over 1.3 MW electric power per turn.

Collector-based measurement of gas desorption and secondary electron emission induced by 0–1.4 keV electrons from LHC-grade copper at 15 K

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider cryomagnets embed a 1.9 K UHV chamber lined with a 5–20 K beam-screen (BS) that intercepts the synchrotron radiation and electron cloud (EC). The low–energy EC irradiates the BS and desorbs gas, creating a dynamic vacuum effect. A novel setup controllably reproduces this by irradiating an unbaked as-received BS copper sample at 15 K with 0–1.4 keV electrons, representing a slice of the EC spectrum. This collector-based setup is qualified using a HOPG reference for secondary electron yield (SEY) and 15N2 as a tracer in low-energy electron stimulated desorption (ESD) measurements. Measurement at 15 K revealed sub-10 eV ESD thresholds and a maximum around 300 eV of 0.18 H2/e− and 0.13 CO/e−. Irradiation with 300 eV and 1 keV electrons at ∼ 8.10–4 C.mm−2 conditioned ESD and SEY alike. Similar dose at 17 eV only caused minor SEY reduction and no ESD decline. The as-received H2 and CO2 yields at 300 eV decreased 5-150x between 15 and 265 K, respectively..

Non-monotonic dependence of heat loads induced by electron cloud on bunch population at the LHC

Electron cloud effects are among the main performance limitations for the operation of the Large Hadron Collider with 25 ns bunch spacing. Electrons impacting on the beam screens of the superconducting magnets induce a significant heat load reaching values close to the full cooling capacity available from the cryogenic system in some LHC sectors. To better understand this performance limitation, numerical simulations with the PyECLOUD code were performed to study the dependence of the heat load on different beam and machine parameters, in particular the bunch population, which is foreseen to be considerably increased with the impending HL-LHC upgrade. The simulations predict a complex, non-monotonic behavior of the heat load with bunch population which has important implications in defining the upgrade of the cryogenic system required for coping with HL-LHC beam intensities. An in-depth analysis of the simulation results shows that the non-monotonic dependence of the heat load on the bunch population is driven by an interplay between the spectrum of the impacting electrons and the shape of the Secondary Electron Yield curve. Experimental data were collected at the LHC during normal operation and dedicated experiments in order to validate the simulation model and confirm the expected non-monotonic behavior. The simulation results are found to reproduce very well the measurement data.

Beam induced heat load instrumentation installed in LHC during the Long Shutdown 2

During the second run of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) between 2015 and 2018, significant beam induced heat loads have been observed on the beam screens circuits impacting the cryogenic system capacity, mainly due to the electron clouds generated by the beams. To validate these measurements and to obtain precise heat load assessments and comparison with preliminary calculations based on existing hardware equipment at selected locations, it was decided to add new cryogenic instrumentation around the machine. In total, 23 Coriolis flowmeters (cold conditions), 4 thermal flowmeters (room temperature conditions) and 58 Cernox thermometers have been installed and commissioned between 2019 and 2021 during the so-called long shutdown 2 (LS2). This paper presents an overview of this project, including the commissioning of these instruments and confirming at first stage the original heat load estimations.