GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research

Ultra-sensitive Beam Intensity Measurement

Trainee: David Haider
Supervisor: Peter Forck and Thomas Sieber

At the GSI beam instrumentation group new diagnostics devices are permanently developed to match the requirements of the upcoming Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at GSI/Darmstadt, Germany. One of the major fields of research is the non-destructive measurement of beam intensity in the high energy beam transport sections and in the storage rings. In the frame of a preceding Mari-Curie fellowship, extensive investigations on a superconducting SQUID based Cryogenic Current Comparator

In any accelerator, non-destructive beam current measurements are required for the optimization of machine performance, as well as for experiments with the beam. Typically, the intensity of interesting exotic particle beams is low, requiring sensitive devices with a detection threshold of a few nA. Such thresholds can be reached by a SQUID-based measurement of the beam’s magnetic field, however this type of advanced monitor still requires a second instrument to provide a meaningful dynamic range. Ultra-sensitive Beam Intensity Monitors are not commercially available and have been developed as part of this project at GSI in collaboration with other researchers within this work package. The Fellow established such a cryogenic current comparator for the storage ring CRYRING and commissioned the cryogenic detector support system. This system now acts as the prototype for several installations in the upcoming Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR).

More information can be found here

Reservoir Trap to Deliver Single Antiparticles to Penning Trap Experiments

Trainee: Jeffrey Klimes
Supervisor: Wolfgang Quint

In order to make experiments independent of accelerator-beam time cycles and shut-down periods it would be highly desirable to have an additional controllable source of antiprotons.

The Fellow developed, built and tested a Reservoir Trap to deliver a well-defined number of antiprotons, and even a single particle, into adjacent precision traps for periodic measurement cycles over extended periods of time. Progress has been made toward the first trapping of externally produced ions in the capture section and can now be kept for long storage times while small bunches can be extracted for experiments. This special setup will help to make all experiments independent of accelerator beam-times and shut-down periods and will provide beams at different energies.