Fermilab, Batavia, USA
Handong Global University, Pohang, Republic of Korea
Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Muons, Inc, Batavia, USA
IIT, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Breakdown plasma in a high-pressure hydrogen gas filled RF cavity has been studied from a time domain spectroscopic light analysis. The observed breakdown plasma temperature and density reached 21,000 K and 1020 cm-3, respectively. The electron recombination rate has been evaluated from the decay of plasma density in various gas pressures. The recombination mechanism in dense plasma will be discussed. Finally, the similarity and difference of the breakdown processes between the high-pressure hydrogen gas filled RF cavity and a vacuum RF one will be discussed.
Fermilab, Batavia, USA
Handong Global University, Pohang, Republic of Korea
Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
IIT, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Muons, Inc, Batavia, USA
Muon Colliders and Neutrino Factories call for R&D for a high-gradient RF system capable of operating in a high magnetic field. Adding a high pressure gas inside an RF cavity (HPRF) prevents cavity breakdown, allowing higher gradients in a magnetic field. A high-energy beam passing through an HPRF cavity ionizes the gas, producing plasma. Plasma electrons absorb cavity’s energy, reducing the energy available for beam acceleration. Doping cavity gas with electronegative gas (gas that tends to attract and bond electrons) reduces the number of plasma electrons. The experiments were carried out at the MuCool Test Area (MTA) facility at Fermilab. Different concentrations of an electronegative gas SF6 were added to hydrogen gas. The results of room-temperature tests showing a great reduction in power drop in the cavity will be presented. However, a realistic cavity would operate at liquid nitrogen temperature, where SF6 freezes. Thus, a search for a better electronegative gas candidate is underway; we plan to test oxygen-doping next.
IIT, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Handong Global University, Pohang, Republic of Korea
Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Fermilab, Batavia, USA
Muons, Inc, Batavia, USA
A high pressure hydrogen gas filled RF cavity was subjected to an intense proton beam to study the evolution of the beam induced plasma inside the cavity. The electron recombination rate with the dense ionized hydrogen plasma has been measured under varying conditions. Recombination rates as high as 10-7 cm3/s have been recorded. This technique shows promise in the R&D program for a muon accelerator. The use of hydrogen, both as a way to prevent breakdown in an RF cavity and as a mechanism for cooling a beam of muons, will be discussed.
Fermilab, Batavia, USA
Handong Global University, Pohang, Republic of Korea
IIT, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Muons, Inc, Batavia, USA
One of the greatest challenges in constructing a Muon Collider is cooling the hot muons into a focused beam after their production. Because the beam must be cooled quickly before the muons decay, compact cooling designs require high gradient cavities inside strong magnetic fields. Unfortunately, due to focused field emission, an external magnetic field degrades the performance of the cavity below what is required for a muon collider. High-pressure gas inside the cavity has been proposed to both mitigate this effect, as well as serve as an absorber for transversely cooling the muon beam. A prototype of a high pressure gas-filled cavity is currently being studied at the Muon Test Area at Fermilab. The experimental setup as well as several measurements of the physics and performance of the apparatus while operating in a 400-MeV proton beam will be discussed.
Fermilab, Batavia, USA
Handong Global University, Pohang, Republic of Korea
Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
IIT, Chicago, Illinois, USA
The recent High Pressure RF (HPRF) cavity experiment at the MuCool Test Area (MTA) used a 400 MeV Linac proton beam to study the beam loading effect. When the energetic proton beam passes through the cavity, it ionizes the inside gas and produces electrons. These electrons consume RF power inside the cavity. The number of electrons produced per cm inside the cavity (at 950 psi Hydrogen gas) per incident proton is 1200. The measurement of beam position and profile are necessary. The MTA is a flammable gas (Hydrogen) hazard zone, so we have developed a passive beam diagnostic instrument using a Chromox-6 scintillation screen and CCD camera. This paper presents quantitative information about beam position and beam profile. A neutral density filter was used to avoid saturation of the CCD camera. Image data is filtered and fitted with a Gaussian function to compute the beam size. The beam profile obtained from the scintillation screen will be compared with a multi-wire beam profile.
ANL, Argonne, USA
Tech-X, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Fermilab, Batavia, USA
JIHT RAS, Moscow, Russia
We are continuing to extend and simplify our understanding of vacuum arcs. We believe that all the breakdown phenomena we see (with and without B fields) can be explained by: 1) fracture due to electrostatic forces at surface crack junctions, 2) the development of a unipolar arc driven by the cavity electric field, and 3) cooling, and cracking of the surface after the event is finished. Recent progress includes the evaluation of non-Debye sheaths using Molecular Dynamics, studies of sheath driven instabilities, a model of degradation of gradient limits in strong B fields, analysis of the variety of arcs that can occur in cavities and their damage and further studies of breakdown triggers.
Muons, Inc, Batavia, USA
LANL, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
Fermilab, Batavia, USA
IIT, Chicago, Illinois, USA
An 805 MHz RF pillbox cavity has been designed and constructed to investigate potential muon beam acceleration and cooling techniques for a Muon Collider or Neutrino Factory. The cavity can operate in vacuum or under pressure to 100 atmospheres, at room temperature or in a liquid nitrogen bath at 77 K. The cavity has been designed for easy assembly and disassembly with bolted construction using aluminum seals. To perform vacuum and high pressure breakdown studies of materials and geometries most suitable for the collider or factory, the surfaces of the end walls of the cavity can be replaced with different materials such as copper, aluminum, beryllium, or molybdenum, and with different geometries such as shaped windows or grid structures. The cavity has been designed to fit inside the 5-Tesla solenoid in the MuCool Test Area at Fermilab. In this paper we present the vacuum conditioning results and discuss plans for testing in a 5-Tesla magnetic field. Additionally, we discuss the testing plan for beryllium (a material research has shown to be ideal for the collider or factory) end walls.
Muons, Inc, Batavia, USA
Fermilab, Batavia, USA
Phase and Frequency locked magnetrons have many important uses from phased array ground penetrating radars to SRF sources. We report on the recent progress in making such a magnetron. The ferrite/garnet material has passed bakeout and outgassing tests with outgassing rates well below the requirements. The magnetic field requirements for adjusting the frequency by changing the microwave properties of the ferrite/garnet have been determined. The design of the anode structure with ferrites, magnetic shielding, and magnetic bias has been completed for a low power test. We report on the design status. Muons, Inc. has negotiated an contract with a manufacturing firm, L-3 Electron Devices California Tube Laboratory, Inc., to be the Manufacturing Partner for the commercialization of this technology and support these Phase II efforts.