ESS Diagnostics Project entering new phase
After a number of iterations, the design of the Optical Diagnostics for the Target of the European Spallation Source (ESS) is now reaching stability. The progress to date was presented by QUASAR Mark Ibison as a poster at the international conference IPAC 2016 in May 2016.
The overall responsibility for the work towards building a prototype optical system based on the design now resides with the University of Oslo. Nevertheless, Mark continues to have a role in the project, especially in areas not yet fully defined. This includes the analysis of the special requirements for imaging the ESS proton beam on the ‘Tuning Dump’, which is located in a separate section of the beam-line.
He is creating a design using the same ZEMAX software as used for the Target system already developed. Beam parameters for imaging at the Dump are rather less severe than for the Target, but the same optical principles are applicable to the design. It is expected that it may be possible to use an ‘optical fibre bundle’ for transporting the beam image to a low-radiation environment outside the accelerator tunnel. This is an efficient method of light transmission where no direct optical path exists, and avoids some of the problems of alignment which can be found in complex mirror systems.