In this Letter, we present a study of the confinement properties of point-defect resonators in finite-size photonic-bandgap structures composed of aperiodic arrangements of dielectric rods, with special emphasis on their use for the design of cavities for particle accelerators. Specifically, for representative geometries, we study the properties of the fundamental mode (as a function of the filling fraction, structure size, and losses) via 2-D and 3-D full-wave numerical simulations, as well as microwave measurements at room temperature. Results indicate that, for reduced-size structures, aperiodic geometries exhibit superior confinement properties by comparison with periodic ones.
Nb3Sn superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities have substantial potential for enabling new performance capabilities for particle accelerators for high energy physics (HEP), as well as for RF cavity-based detectors for dark matter, gravitational waves, and other quantum sensing applications. Outside of HEP, Nb3Sn SRF cavities can also benefit accelerators for nuclear physics, basic energy sciences, and the industry. In this contribution to Snowmass 2021, we overview the potential, status, and outlook of Nb3Sn SRF cavities.
It is well known that the tuning of a long radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator is demanding. This study investigated how to realize efficient long RFQ accelerators with multiple shorter and independent cavities. From the RF point of view, the use of shorter cavities has many advantages e.g. enlarged mode separation and simplified RF tuning, but the beam matching between cavities will become an issue, especially at high current and low energy. Taking a more than 9 m long, high current machine as an example, this paper presents the design concepts and methods leading to good beam quality and …
Nb3Sn is a promising next-generation material for superconducting radiofrequency cavities, with significant potential for both large scale and compact accelerator applications. However, so far, Nb3Sn cavities have been limited to cw accelerating fields <18 MV/m. In this paper, new results are presented with significantly higher fields, as high as 24 MV/m in single cell cavities. Results are also presented from the first ever Nb3Sn-coated 1.3 GHz 9-cell cavity, a full-scale demonstration on the cavity type used in production for the European XFEL and LCLS-II. Results are presented together with…
The static and dynamic structural behavior of superconducting cavities for various projects was determined by finite element structural analysis. The b = 0.61 cavity shape for the Neutron Science Project was studied in detail and found to meet all design requirements if fabricated from five millimeter thick material with a single annular stiffener. This 600 MHz cavity will have a Lorentz coefficient of -1.8 Hz/(Mv/meter)2 and a lowest structural resonance of more than 100 Hz. Cavities at b = 0.48, 0.61, and 0.77 were analyzed for a Neutron Science Project concept which would incorporate 7-cell…
Photonic crystal (PhC) defect cavities that support an accelerating mode tend to trap unwanted higher-order modes (HOMs) corresponding to zero-group-velocity PhC lattice modes at the top of the bandgap. The effect is explained quite generally from photonic band and perturbation theoretical arguments. Transverse wakefields resulting from this effect are observed in a hybrid dielectric PhC accelerating cavity based on a triangular lattice of sapphire rods. These wakefields are, on average, an order of magnitude higher than those in the waveguide-damped Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) copper cavit…
The European XFEL is a new research facility currently under construction at DESY in the Hamburg area in Germany. From 2015 on, it will generate extremely intense X-ray flashes that will be used by researchers from all over the world. The superconducting XFEL linear accelerator consists of 100 accelerator modules with more than 800 RF-cavities inside. The accelerator modules, superconducting magnets and cavities will be tested in the accelerator module test facility (AMTF). This paper gives an overview of the design parameters and the commissioning of the vertical insert, used in two cryostats…
Field emission is one of the key issues in superconducting RF for particle accelerators. When present, it limits operating gradient directly or via induced heat load at 2K. In order to minimize particulate contamination of and thus field emission in the CEBAF SRF cavities during assembly, a cold ceramic RF window was placed very close to the accelerating cavity proper. As an unintended consequence of this, the window is charged by field-emitted electrons, making it possible to monitor and model field emission in the CEBAF cavities since in-tunnel operation began. From January 30, 1995, through…
In the field of particle accelerators the most common use of RF cavities is to increase the particle velocity of traversing particles. This feature makes them one of the core ingredients of every accelerator, and in the case of linear accelerators they are even the dominant machine component. Since there are many different types of accelerator, RF cavities have been optimized for different purposes and with different abilities, e.g., cavities with fixed or variable RF frequency, cavities for short or long pulses/CW operation, superconducting and normal-conducting cavities. This lecture starts …
The low energy part of the FAST linear accelerator based on 1.3 GHz superconducting RF cavities was successfully commissioned. During commissioning, beam based model dependent methods were used to correct linear lattice and trajectory. Lattice correction algorithm is based on analysis of beam shape from profile monitors and trajectory responses to dipole correctors. Trajectory responses to field gradient variations in quadrupoles and phase variations in superconducting RF cavities were used to correct bunch offsets in quadrupoles and accelerating cavities relative to their magnetic axes. Detai…
The recently developed frequency extraction algorithm [G.R. Werner and J.R. Cary, J. Comp. Phys. 227, 5200 (2008)] that enables a simple FDTD algorithm to be transformed into an efficient eigenmode solver is applied to a realistic accelerator cavity modeled with embedded boundaries and Richardson extrapolation. Previously, the frequency extraction method was shown to be capable of distinguishing M degenerate modes by running M different simulations and to permit mode extraction with minimal post-processing effort that only requires solving a small eigenvalue problem. Realistic calculations for…
We describe the upgrades to diagnostic capabilities on the Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) electron linear accelerator that will allow investigations of the effects of high-order modes (HOMs) in SCRF cavities on macropulse-average beam quality. We examine the dipole modes in the first pass-band generally observed in the 1.6-1.9 GHz regime for TESLA-type SCRF cavities due to uniform transverse beam offsets of the electron beam. Such cavities are the basis of the accelerators such as the European XFEL and the proposed MaRIE XFEL facility. Preliminary HOM detector data, prototy…
Linear accelerators containing the sequence of independently phased cavities with constant geometrical velocity along each structure are widely used in practice. The chain of cavities with identical cell lengths is utilized within a certain beam velocity range, with subsequent transformation to the next chain with higher cavity velocity. Design and analysis of beam dynamics in this type of accelerator are usually performed using numerical simulations. A full theoretical description of particle acceleration in an array of independent phased cavities has not been developed. In the present paper,…
Superconducting niobium film cavities deposited on copper substrates (Nb/Cu) have suffered from strong field-dependent surface resistance, often referred to as the Q-slope problem, since their invention. We argue that the Q-slope may not be an intrinsic problem, but rather originates from a combination of factors which can be revealed in appropriate environmental conditions. In this study, extrinsic effects were carefully minimized in a series of experiments on a seamless cavity. The origin of the Q-slope in low frequency cavities is traced back to two contributions with different temperature …
A concept for a two-stage injection-locked CW magnetron intended to drive Superconducting Cavities (SC) for intensity-frontier accelerators has been proposed. The concept considers two magnetrons in which the output power differs by 15-20 dB and the lower power magnetron being frequency-locked from an external source locks the higher power magnetron. The injection-locked two-stage CW magnetron can be used as an RF power source for Fermilab's Project-X to feed separately each of the 1.3 GHz SC of the 8 GeV pulsed linac. We expect output/locking power ratio of about 30-40 dB assuming operation i…
In dark matter searches using axion haloscopes, the search sensitivity depends on the quality factors ($Q_0$) of radiofrequency cavities immersed in multi-tesla magnetic fields. Increasing $Q_0$ would increase the scan rate through the parameter space of interest. Researchers developing superconducting radiofrequency cavities for particle accelerators have developed methods for obtaining extremely high $Q_0\sim10^{11}$ in $μ$T-scale magnetic fields. In this paper, we describe efforts to develop high Q cavities made from Nb$_3$Sn films using a technique developed for particle accelerator caviti…
A new surface treatment technique for niobium (Nb) Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities called Buffered Electropolishing (BEP) has been developed at JLab. It was found that BEP could produce the smoothest surface finish on Nb samples ever reported in the literature. Experimental results revealed that the Nb removal rate of BEP could reach as high as 4.09 um/min. This is significantly faster1 than that of the conventional electropolishing technique employing an acid mixture of HF and H2SO4. An investigation is underway to determine the optimum values for all relevant BEP parameters so…
SRF niobium cavities are the building blocks of modern accelerators for scientific applications. Lower surface resistance, higher fields, and high operating temperatures advance the reach of the future accelerators for scientific discovery as well as potentially enabling cost-effective industrial solutions. We describe the design and performance of an Nb$_{3}$Sn coating system that converts the inner surface of niobium cavities to Nb$_{3}$Sn film. Niobium surface, heated by radiation from the niobium retort, is exposed to Sn and SnCl$_{2}$ vapor during the heat cycle, which results in about 2 …
Transverse deflecting cavities are used for a number of applications in modern accelerators. In this paper we discuss the fields of these cavities, some of their applications, and some important aspects of their design.
The FREIA Laboratory at Uppsala University focuses on superconducting technology and accelerator development. It actively supports the development of the European Spallation Source, CERN, and MAX IV, among others. FREIA has developed test facilities for superconducting accelerator technology such as a double-cavity horizontal test cryostat, a vertical cryostat with a novel magnetic field compensation scheme, and a test stand for short cryomodules. Accelerating cavities have been tested in the horizontal cryostat, crab-cavities in the vertical cryostat, and cryomodules for ESS on the cryomodule…
Front end of a CW linac of the Project X contains an H source, an RFQ, a medium energy transport line with the beam chopper, and a SC low-beta linac that accelerates H- from 2.5 MeV to 160 MeV. SC Single Spoke Resonators (SSR) will be used in the linac, because Fermilab already successfully developed and tested a SSR for beta=0.21. Two manufactured cavities achieve 2.5 times more than design accelerating gradients. One of these cavities completely dressed, e.g. welded to helium vessel with integrated slow and fast tuners, and tested in CW regime. Successful tests of beta=0.21 SSR give us a con…
In the development of high efficiency and high gradient RF-accelerators, RF waveguides and cavities have been designed with Photonic Band Gap (PBG) and fishnet- metamaterial structures. The designed structures are comprised of a periodically corrugated channel sandwiched between two photonic crystal slabs with alternating high to low dielectric constants and a multi-cell cavity-resonator designed with fishnet-metamaterial apertures. The structural designs of our interest are intended to only allow an operating-mode or -band within a narrow frequency range to propagate. The simulation analysis …
Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities performance preservation is crucial, from vertical test to accelerator operation. Field Emission (FE) is still one of the performance limiting factors to overcome and plasma cleaning has been proven successful by the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), in cleaning field emitters and increasing the work function of Nb. A collaboration has been established between Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with the purpose of applying plasma processing to the Linac Coheren…
This Snowmass21 Contributed Paper encourages the Particle Physics community in fostering R&D in Superconducting Nb3Sn coated Copper RF Cavities instead of costly bulk Niobium. It describes the pressing need to devote effort in this direction, which would deliver higher gradient and higher temperature of operation and reduce the overall capital and operational costs of any future collider. It is unlikely that an ILC will be built in the next ten years with Nb as one of the main cost drivers of SRFs. This paper provides strong arguments on the benefits of using this time for R&D on producing Nb3…
In storage rings, horizontal dispersion in the rf cavities introduces horizontal-longitudinal (xz) coupling, contributing to beam tilt in the xz plane. This coupling can be characterized by a "crabbing" dispersion term ζa that appears in the normal mode decomposition of the 1-turn transfer matrix. ζa is proportional to the rf cavity voltage and the horizontal dispersion in the cavity. We report experiments at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring Test Accelerator (CesrTA) where xz coupling was explored using three lattices with distinct crabbing properties. We characterize the xz coupling for each…
Superconducting ratio-frequency (SRF) cavities, cooled by superfluid helium-4 (He II), are key components in modern particle accelerators. Quenches in SRF cavities caused by Joule heating from local surface defects can severely limit the maximum achievable accelerating field. Existing methods for quench spot detection include temperature mapping and second-sound triangulation. These methods are useful but all have known limitations. Here we describe a new method for surface quench spot detection by visualizing the heat transfer in He II via tracking He$_2^*$ molecular tracer lines. A proof-of-…
RF superconductivity has become a major subfield of accelerator science. There has been an explosion in the number of accelerator applications and in the number of laboratories engaged. The first lecture at this meeting of the CAS presented a review of fundamental design principles to develop cavity geometries to accelerate velocity-of-light particles ($β$ = v/c ~ 1), moving on to the corresponding design principles for medium-velocity (medium-$β$) and low-velocity (low-$β$) structures. The lecture included mechanical design topics. The second lecture dealt with input couplers, higher-order mo…
Ambient magnetic field, if trapped in the penetration depth, leads to the residual resistance and therefore sets the limit for the achievable quality factors in superconducting niobium resonators for particle accelerators. Here we show that a complete expulsion of the magnetic flux can be performed and leads to: 1) record quality factors $Q > 2\times10^{11}$ up to accelerating gradient of 22 MV/m; 2) $Q\sim3\times10^{10}$ at 2 K and 16 MV/m in up to 190 mG magnetic fields. This is achieved by large thermal gradients at the normal/superconducting phase front during the cooldown. Our findings op…
The dependence of the Q-value on the RF field (Q-slope) is actively studied in various accelerator laboratories. Although remedies against this dependence have been found, the physical cause still remains obscure. A rather straightforward two-fluid model description of the Q-slope in the low and high field domains is presented with emphasis on the recently experimentally identified improvement of the Q-value by so-called "N-doping".
We suggest a program to establish theoretical performance limits of srf cavities using modern theories of nonequilibrium superconductivity under a strong electromagnetic field. These theories will be used to calculate the main parameter of merit of srf cavities: the quality factor Q and its dependencies on the field amplitude, temperature and frequency, which would allow us to understand how far the srf cavity performance could be pushed from the current state of the art. Given that the quality factor is determined by multiple mechanisms operating on very different length scales, we will addre…
Superconducting RF is a key technology for future particle accelerators, now relying on advanced surfaces beyond bulk Nb for a leap in performance and efficiency. The SRF thin film strategy aims at transforming the current SRF technology by using highly functional materials, addressing all the necessary functions. The community is deploying efforts in three research thrusts to develop next-generation thin-film based cavities. Nb on Cu cavities are developed to perform as good as or better than bulk Nb at reduced cost and with better thermal stability. Recent results showing improved accelerati…
This paper reports on comprehensive efforts on uncertainty quantification and global sensitivity analysis for accelerator cavity design. As a case study object the TESLA shaped superconducting cavities, as produced for the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (EXFEL), are selected. The choice for these cavities is explained by the available measurement data that can be leveraged to substantiate the simulation model. Each step of the manufacturing chain is documented together with the involved uncertainties. Several of these steps are mimicked on the simulation side, e.g. by introducing a random …
We report the direct observations of sub-macropulse beam centroid oscillations correlated with higher order modes (HOMs) which were generated by off-axis electron beam steering in TESLA-type superconducting RF cavities. The experiments were performed at the Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) facility using its unique configuration of a photocathode rf gun injecting beam into two separated 9-cell cavities in series with corrector magnets and beam position monitors (BPMs) located before, between, and after them. Oscillations of ~100 kHz in the vertical plane and ~380 kHz in the h…
As a joint effort in the JLC/NLC research program, we have developed a new type of damped detuned accelerator structure with optimized round-shaped cavities (RDDS). This paper discusses some important R&D aspects of the first structure in this series (RDDS1). The design aspects covered are the cell design with sub-MHz precision, HOM detuning, coupling and damping technique and wakefield simulation. The fabrication issues covered are ultra-precision cell machining with micron accuracy, assembly and diffusion bonding technologies to satisfactorily meet bookshelf, straightness and cell rotational…
Many modern and proposed future particle accelerators rely on superconducting radio frequency cavities made of bulk niobium as primary particle accelerating structures. Such cavities suffer from the anomalous field dependence of their quality factors Q0. High field degradation - so-called high field Q-slope - is yet unexplained even though an empirical cure is known. Here we propose a mechanism based on the presence of proximity-coupled niobium hydrides, which can explain this effect. Furthermore, the same mechanism can be present in any surface-sensitive experiments or superconducting devices…
Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities cooled by superfluid helium-4 (He II) are building blocks of many modern particle accelerators due to their high quality factor. However, Joule heating from sub-millimeter surface defects on cavities can lead to cavity quenching, which limits the maximum acceleration gradient of the accelerators. Developing a non-contacting detection technology to accurately locate these surface defects is the key to improve the performance of SRF cavities and hence the accelerators. In a recent proof-of-concept experiment (Phys. Rev. Applied, 11, 044003 (2019)), …
A focus of work at IAP has been the development and optimization of spiral loaded cavities since the 1970s [A. Schempp et al, NIM 135, 409 (1976)]. These cavities feature a high efficiency, a compact design and a big variety of possible fields of application. They find use both as bunchers and post accelerators to vary the final energy of the beam. In comparison to other available designs, the advantage of these structures lies in their small size. Furthermore they can easily be tuned to the required resonance frequency by varying the length of the spiral. Due to the small size of the cavities…
A focus of work at IAP has been the development and optimization of spiral loaded cavities since the 1970s [A. Schempp et al, NIM 135, 409 (1976)]. These cavities feature a high efficiency, a compact design and a big variety of possible fields of application. They find use both as bunchers and post accelerators to vary the final energy of the beam. In comparison to other available designs, the advantage of these structures lies in their small size. Furthermore they can easily be tuned to the required resonance frequency by varying the length of the spiral. Due to the small size of the cavities…
Fundamental questions on the nature of matter and energy have found answers thanks to the use of particle accelerators. Societal applications, such as cancer treatment or cancer imaging, illustrate the impact of accelerators in our current life. Today, accelerators use metallic cavities that sustain electricfields with values limited to about 100 MV/m. Because of their ability to support extreme accelerating gradients, the plasma medium has recently been proposed for future cavity-like accelerating structures. This contribution highlights the tremendous evolution of plasma accelerators driven …
Nitrogen doping study on niobium (Nb) samples used for the fabrication of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities was carried out. The samples' surface treatment was attempted to replicate that of the Nb SRF cavities, which includes heavy electropolishing (EP), nitrogen doping and the subsequent EP with different amounts of material removal. The surface chemical composition of Nb samples with different post treatments has been studied by XPS. The chemical composition of Nb, O, C and N was presented before and after Gas Cluster Ion Beam (GCIB) etching. No signals of poorly superconductin…
Crab cavities have been proposed for a wide number of accelerators and interest in crab cavities has recently increased after the successful operation of a pair of crab cavities in KEK-B. In particular crab cavities are required for both the ILC and CLIC linear colliders for bunch alignment. Consideration of bunch structure and size constraints favour a 3.9 GHz superconducting, multi-cell cavity as the solution for ILC, whilst bunch structure and beam-loading considerations suggest an X-band copper travelling wave structure for CLIC. These two cavity solutions are very different in design but …
We present a topology for linear accelerators (linacs) that permits larger degrees of freedom for the optimization of individual cavity shapes. The power is distributed to the cavities through a waveguide with periodic apertures that guarantees the correct phases and amplitudes along the structure. This topology optimizes the power consumption and efficiency and allows the manipulation of the surface fields for high gradient operation. It also provides a possibility for low-temperature manufacturing techniques for use with novel materials. This greatly enhanced performance for both normal and …
The small bandwidth of superconducting cavities makes the study of dynamic Lorentz force detuning and its compensation indispensable in case of pulsed mode operation of high gradient accelerators. In this paper, we present the study of this detuning and also propose an optimized design for five cell 650 MHz βg= 0.9 elliptic superconducting cavities, which will be used in the high energy section of the 1 GeV H- linear accelerator for the proposed Indian Spallation Neutron Source project, by suitably inserting the inter-cell stiffeners. The paper presents a sequential design methodology which st…
Superconducting radio-frequency cavities are commonly used in modern particle accelerators for applied and fundamental research. Such cavities are typically made of high-purity, bulk Nb and are cooled by a liquid helium bath at a temperature of ~2 K. The size, cost and complexity of operating a particle accelerator with a liquid helium refrigerator makes the current cavity technology not favorable for use in industrial-type accelerators. We developed a multi-metallic 1.495~GHz elliptical cavity conductively cooled by a cryocooler. The cavity has a ~2 $μ$m thick layer of Nb$_3$Sn on the inner s…
During the CERN Accelerator School 'Superconductivity for accelerators', the students were divided into 18 groups, and 6 different exercises (case studies), involving the design and analysis of superconducting magnets and RF cavities, were assigned. The problems covered a broad spectrum of topics, from properties of superconducting materials to operation conditions and general dimensions of components. The work carried out by the students turned out to be an extremely useful opportunity to review the material explained during the lectures, to become familiar with the orders of magnitude of the…
We demonstrate a novel scheme for imposing and removing large energy chirp on relativistic electron bunches relying on the transverse-to-longitudinal mixing accomplished with a set of transverse deflecting cavities. The working principles of the new concept are explained using the first order matrix formalism in the approximation of the linear single-particle dynamics. The scheme demonstrates versatility regarding the average beam energy, and hence, positioning along the accelerator beamline. The performance of the scheme is numerically investigated with the elegant particle tracking code. It …
An electron beam entering an accelerator cavity excites higher order modes (HOM). These are radiated to HOM couplers and subsequently damped. They can also be used to facilitate beam position monitoring. The modes excited by off-axis beams are the focus of this study. Results are presented on the first analysis of HOM dependency on the beam position for the third harmonic cavities at FLASH. The analysis is based on the beampipe and cavity dipole modes. Various analysis methods are used and compared to satisfy the needs emerging from the characteristics of those modes. The electric center of ea…
We estimate the average flux density of minimally-coupled axion-like particles generated by a laser-driven plasma wakefield propagating along a constant strong magnetic field. Our calculations suggest that a terrestrial source based on this approach could generate a pulse of axion-like particles whose flux density is comparable to that of solar axion-like particles at Earth. This mechanism is optimal for axion-like particles with mass in the range of interest of contemporary experiments designed to detect dark matter using microwave cavities.
