ANL, Argonne, USA
Extruded aluminum vacuum chambers are commonly used in the storage rings of synchrotron facilities. For 18 years the APS has designed and fabricated vacuum chambers made from extruded aluminum for use with insertion devices at the APS and for use at other facilities including BESSY II, the Swiss Light Source (SLS), the Canadian Light Source (CLS), the TESLA Test Facility (TTF), and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Most recently extruded aluminum chambers were developed for LCLS with a 0.5-mm wall thickness along the entire 3.8-meter length. Surface roughness for the LCLS vacuum chamber interior was reduced, on average, to less than 300 nm through an abrasive flow polishing technique. Currently under development is an extruded aluminum chamber for the superconducting undulator at the APS. So far, 120 vacuum chambers have been produced with these methods. Results of the development, construction, and manufacturing of extruded aluminum vacuum chambers with small vertical apertures and thin walls are presented. The design, technological challenges, and positive and negative experiences are discussed.
