Accelerator Science and Technology Seminar

Titel:

"First Beam Commissioning of the SEALAB Superconducting Radio-Frequency (SRF) Photoelectron Gun"

Abstract:

After about a decade of research, development and construction work, the bERLinPro Energy Recovery Linac project at HZB changed over into the commissioning phase under the new framework SEALAB and started the operation of the SRF photo-injector with the injection line of the accelerator. This system had already produced beam from a metal photo-cathode in 2018 [1] in a dedicated test environment called Gunlab and was assembled in the accelerator hall after a required refurbishment and repair program [2]. The 1.3 GHz SRF gun successfully generated first photoemission beam from a high quantum efficiency (QE) Na-based multi-alkali photocathode. In this talk, the results of the first two measurement campaigns will be shown, including a review of the SRF design, the RF commissioning, the cavity performance, especially with respect to dark current, the cathode quantum efficiency and lifetime, as well as the measured beam parameters. Short- to midterm measurement plans will be discussed in the outlook.

[1] A. Neumann et al., “The BERLinPro SRF Photoinjector System - From First RF Commissioning to First Beam”, in Proc. 9th Int. Particle Accelerator Conf. (IPAC'18), Vancouver, BC, Canada, Apr. 4,, pp. 1660-1663, doi:10.18429/JACoW-IPAC2018-TUPML053

[2] Yegor Tamashevich et al 2024 Eng. Res. Express 6 025009

Titel:

"Commissioning and First User Operation at SLS 2.0"

Abstract:

Following successful commissioning, the Swiss Light Source upgrade, SLS 2.0, entered its first beamline commissioning and user operation phases. Storage-ring optics were tuned close to design, achieving beta beating within a few percent and optimized dispersion. Sub-micron orbit stability was realized through fast-orbit feedback, permanent magnets, and improved environmental control. The injector chain delivered highly reproducible bunch charge and stable energy with transmission exceeding requirements.

User operation began with a stable filling pattern and regular top-up injection under defined current-stability conditions. Beamline commissioning progressed in parallel, and by the end of the first user period, 14 beamlines were operating with availability comparable to the final years of SLS. These results demonstrate that SLS 2.0 rapidly achieved a robust operational regime, paving the way for continued performance optimization and full scientific exploitation.

Titel:

"Accelerator Based Photon Sources at PSI"

Abstract:

PSI operates two accelerator-based photon science facilities, the Swiss-Light-Source SLS with 19 user beamlines, and the X-ray FEL SwissFEL with 6 user end stations. After an overview of the history and status of both facilties the talk will focus on the technical and organization challenges during the realization phase of SwissFEL, and during the recent upgrade of SLS to the 4^th generation SLS2.0 storage ring.

Titel:

"ITER and the ITER Integrated Control System"

Abstract:

The pursuit of commercial fusion energy represents one of the greatest scientific and engineering challenges of our time. At the heart of this global effort is ITER, the world's largest experimental fusion facility under construction in southern France. This talk will be presented in two parts, transitioning from the broad mission and the status of the ITER project to the details of the control system that will make its operation possible.
The first part of the talk provides a comprehensive overview of the ITER project. We will explore the context and fundamental goals of the machine and review the progress of the facility’s construction and assembly, currently under the "Baseline 2024", which re-prioritizes the project’s technical milestones and outlines the roadmap toward first scientific operations in 2034 and deuterium-tritium operation in 2039.
The second part of the talk focuses on the ITER Integrated Control System, the massive and complex architecture required to orchestrate more than 170 individual plant systems. We will discuss its architecture and show how integrating "in-kind" contributions from seven different members presents unique challenges in standardization and interoperability, which are managed through the Plant Control Design Handbook (PCDH) and the EPICS-based CODAC Core System. Finally, the talk will introduce the real-time framework (RTF) used for plasma control and show how, by using simulations, ITER ensures that pulse schedules are validated and control strategies are refined long before the first plasma is triggered.

Titel:

''SRF Gun and Nanostructured Cathodes at DESY''

Abstract: 

DESY is developing a superconducting radio-frequency photoinjector for high-duty-cycle continuous-wave operation for a future upgrade of the European XFEL. The gun cavity has already demonstrated accelerating fields up to 50 MV/m, making the concept promising not only for FELs but also for other cw applications such as ultrafast electron diffraction and THz sources. However, thread-mounted cathode integration remains one of the key challenges. A major focus of current work is the improvement of the quantum efficiency of metal cathodes, including the development of nanostructured cathodes that may enhance light absorption and emission efficiency. This talk will highlight the challenges of cathode integration in the SRF environment and present current efforts on metal cathodes at DESY.

Titel:

''FLASHlab Studies at PITZ''

Abstract: 

N/A

Titel:

''Particle Therapy Down Under: Melbourne's Medical Accelerator Programme''

Abstract: 

Charged particle therapy is an established cancer therapy modality, used to treat tens of thousands of patients annually. The next generation of medical accelerators must be ready to employ emerging techniques, such as ultra-rapid dose delivery, while also reducing the machine footprint to enable more compact facilities. At The University of Melbourne, the Technology for Ultra-Rapid Beam Operation (TURBO) project will demonstrate a route to ultra-rapid treatments, using a Fixed Field Accelerator arc with constant magnetic fields to transport a large range of energies without the need to wait for magnet ramping. The arc will have a ±42% momentum acceptance, enabling rapid energy switching. Beam transport will be shown with low energy protons produced by an electrostatic Pelletron accelerator, with plans to scale up the technique to therapeutic energies. Here, I will give an overview of the TURBO project, including the nonlinear beam optics and permanent magnet array design methodology. I will also describe other components of our accelerator programme, including the X-LAB, a high gradient electron beamline with potential medical applications. Finally, I will discuss scope for collaboration on current and future projects.

Titel:

"Lightsources in Canada: CLS and WaterlooFEL"

Abstract:

Canada has a broad range of activities in the field of particle accelerators, from the large national labs at TRIUMF, CLS, and AEL-AMS, to small industrial and university-based sources, as well as many medical accelerators. This talk gives an overview of accelerators in Canada, including some history, and highlights specific projects: the WaterFEL free-electron laser under design and construction at the University of Waterloo, and Canadian contributions to the Future Circular Collider (FCC) collaboration at CERN. WaterFEL is a new mid-infrared FEL that will become Canada's latest national accelerator-based light source facility upon commissioning in 2027. Canada's electron accelerator light source facilities have natural synergies with the FCC-ee electron–positron collider studies, which has led to several student projects at CERN. Finally, the University of Saskatchewan's long history in electron accelerators since the 1940s is reviewed, along with plans for a proposed new lab building on this tradition.

 After completing a BSc in physics and PhD in experimental photonuclear physics at the University of Melbourne, Mark did a two-year postdoc at Lund University in Sweden. He then returned to Melbourne in 2003 to be a part of the team that designed, built and commissioned the accelerator systems for the Australian Synchrotron. From 2003-2017 Mark worked on accelerator physics research and development including building diagnostic beamline and performing pioneering research into creating and measuring ultra-low emittance electron beams. In 2012 he was a JSPS Visiting Fellow at KEK in Japan and in 2014 he was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. In 2017 he took up a faculty position at the University of Saskatchewan as an Associate Professor with a joint appointment as Machine Director at the Canadian Light Source from 2017 to 2024. Promoted to full professor in 2022, he is now full-time faculty in the Department of Physics and Engineering physics. Mark was the Chair of the International Particle Accelerator Conference IPAC'19 in Melbourne, Australia from 19-24 May 2019. In 2025 he was elected as Vice Chair of the Executive Committee for the Division of Physics of Beams in the American Physical Society. Presently, the major project Mark is working on is as a co-PI and Steering Committee Member of the new Canadian Foundation for Innovation funded national research infrastructure facility WaterFEL, an Infrared Free Electron Laser under construction at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Since 2008, Mark has collaborated with CERN on many projects and supervised dozens of undergraduate and graduate students.

Titel:

 "The overall ESRF accelerator operation and its long-term scientific plan" 

Abstract: 

The ESRF-EBS has been in operation for six years since August 2020. Beam availability, machine reliability, and the overall stability of the EBS have demonstrated consistent improvement over this period. These topics will be reviewed in the presentation, alongside the measures currently being undertaken. In parallel, the design of a wholly new injector to accommodate the further upgrade of the storage ring is now being contemplated as part of the long-term scientific roadmap for the coming decades. This is complemented by the technological validation phase, which is being pursued through a linac test facility currently under development.

Titel:

''Bixsino Activities in Italy''

Abstract: 

BriXSinO is a proposed INFN experiment, hosted at the LASA laboratory (INFN Sezione di Milano, Segrate) in collaboration with the Università degli Studi di Milano and other partners. It is conceived as a compact demonstrator of the larger BriXS facility: a superconducting, energy-recovering electron accelerator coupled to a laser system, designed to produce Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS) X-rays and THz Free-Electron Laser radiation.

Title:

"DALI & RESONATOR"

Abstract: 

N/A

Title:

"Next-generation energy-efficient magnet systems for accelerator facilities"

Abstract: 

The development of novel permanent magnet technologies aimed at reducing energy consumption in accelerator facilities is one of the goals that we are pursuing in the RF2.0 project. Together with ALBA and our Spanish industry partner ELYTT, HZB is jointly developing a tunable quadrupole prototype based on permanent magnets (PM), conceived as a demonstrator for next-generation, energy-efficient magnet systems. In this seminar the electromagnetic and mechanical design of our prototype and the assembly strategy will be introduced.