ALBA, the Spanish third generation synchrotron light source, is studying the future construction in the same location of a fourth generation light source called ALBA-II. Since the construction of ALBA in 2008, its critical slab has moved significantly, changing with it the accelerator elements positions. In this study, the effects on closed orbit and beam optics errors are simulated from data of the survey campaigns on the ALBA storage ring and compared to measurements in terms of orbit, linear optics, and orbit correctors budget. The results of this study on ALBA are used to infer the effect of the slab movement on the future machine through simulations, predicting yearly and seasonal changes. Plausible correction methods are discussed.

ALBA is working on the upgrade project that shall transform the actual storage ring, in operation since 2012, into a 4th generation light source, in which the soft X-rays part of the spectrum shall be diffraction limited. The project was launched in 2021 with an R&D budget to build prototypes of the more critical components. The storage ring upgrade is based on a MBA lattice which has to comply with several constraints imposed by the decision of maintaining the same circumference (269 m), the same number of cells (16), the same beam energy (3 GeV), and as many of the source points as possible unperturbed. At present, the lattice optimization, iterating with the technical constraints of space and performance, is ongoing. This paper presents the status of the project, with the present proposed lattice, the proposed design for magnets, vacuum chambers and girders, the proposed RF system with fundamental and harmonics cavities, and the general context of the upgrade.

Transparent off-axis injection in a storage ring by means of a non-linear kicker requires tight field tolerances at the limit of modern technique. To characterize the field profile of the non-linear kicker under development for the ALBA-II storage ring, a dedicated measurement bench based on a variant of the vibrating wire technique was developed. The small size and limited weight of the kicker magnet under study allows for some unusual solution which substantially simplify the set-up. Field mapping is obtained by scanning the magnet aperture, while keeping the wire steady, simplifying considerably the wire tensioning system. The wire is suspended vertically in a pendulum configuration eliminating the wire sagging problem and resulting in an inherently stable wire tension. Furthermore we investigate the possibility to characterize time dependent phenomena, such as the effect of eddy currents induced in the titanium coating of the magnet vacuum chamber, by using using an etherodyne approach where the magnet and the wire are excited by a continuous wave signal with period close to the characteristic kicker pulse period and differing in frequency by the wire resonance frequency

Due to the constrains imposed by the tight geometry of the ALBA storage ring, the initial 6BA lattice envisioned for the ALBA-II upgrade was reconsidered in favor of a more relaxed 5BA configuration. The first engineering studies of magnets and vacuum chambers made evident many short comings of the 6BA optics. The here proposed 5BA optics allows for an easier integration at cost of a small increase of the natural emittance. The employed linear and non-linear optics optimization process is here described along with the first studies about dynamic aperture and lifetime.