Calculation of the pressure in the unit-cell vacuum system of Taiwan Photon Source

Taiwan Photon Source is a third-generation 3-GeV synchrotron light source under construction. The electron storage ring of circumference 518.4 m contains 24 unit cells and 24 long straight sections. Each cell of length about 14 m contains two bending chambers and two short straight chambers. To estimate the pressure distribution in the cell vacuum system, a program combining an iterative method and a Monte-Carlo method was used to calculate the pressure. In the modeling, the rate of thermal outgassing of the chamber surfaces and the yield of photon-stimulated desorption of the absorbers are obtained from the experimental results. To provide the effective pumping speed of various pumps that depends on the gas, the composition of residual gases from photon-stimulated desorption was assumed to be 80% H₂ and 20% CO. The pressure calculation for the vacuum cell compares the beam cleaning efficiency during the early commissioning stage when the accumulated beam dose attained 1 A h and 100 A h. The effects of the confined pumping design are evaluated through the modeling to assess whether the commissioning can be accelerated. The result of the pressure calculation obtained with the Monte-Carlo method shows that a mean pressure rise per beam current at 1.9 × 10⁻¹⁰ Pa mA⁻¹ after beam cleaning to a beam dose 100 A h is reasonable and within typical specifications of the synchrotron light source.     

Method for stabilizing beam intensity and energy in the SPring-8 linac

In any electron accelerator facilities, radio frequencies (RF) for a linear accelerator and a circular accelerator that includes a booster synchrotron ring and a storage ring are completely different. There is not necessarily a sub-harmonic relation of two RFs between a linear accelerator and a circular accelerator. It is, however, indispensable to obtain a synchronous relation between both RFs and the timing of the gun trigger signal with the increasing beam current and shortening of beam time width from an electron gun in a linear accelerator. For a synchronous timing system in any electron accelerator facilities, there is no choice but to assemble a complicated system with the frequency dividers and multipliers in order to realize the synchronous relation between both RFs and the gun trigger signal. To simplify the complicated synchronous timing system, we have developed a new synchronization method for the RFs of both linear and circular accelerators. The new synchronization system has been installed into the synchrotron radiation facility, SPring-8 (Super Photon ring 8 GeV), which consists of a 1-GeV linac, an 8-GeV booster synchrotron and an 8-GeV storage ring. A 2856 MHz RF for the 1-GeV linac was generated by the 508.58 MHz RF of the 8-GeV storage ring with the new synchronous timing system, and the emission and acceleration under the condition of the shortening the beam time width in the linac was carried out. Since the synchronous relation between both the RFs and the gun trigger signal was realized by using the new synchronous timing system, the time jitter between the gun trigger signal and the RF phase of 2856 MHz was significantly reduced and resulted in beam energy stabilization. The new synchronous timing system has been used for usual beam operations at SPring-8. This timing system has achieved time jitters of 3.5 ps (rms) and beam energy stability of 0.009% (rms) under the condition of completely synchronized two RFs and the gun trigger signal.     

Materials and processing of vacuum components for the high-intensity proton beam accelerator, J-PARC

The Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) project of the proton beam accelerator, involving a 400-MeV linac, a 3-GeV rapid-cycling synchrotron and a 50-GeV synchrotron, started in 2002. Materials used as vacuum components, such as electroformed copper, titanium, stainless steel and alumina ceramics, were examined from the point of view outgassing and electrical breakdown. The mechanical characteristics of a hydro-formed titanium bellows and a quick-disconnect flange system were also investigated.     

A Pirani gauge in a high-intensity proton accelerator

We have developed a Pirani-type vacuum gauge for monitoring the back pressure of a turbo-molecular pump (TMP), which is employed as the main pump for the 3-GeV Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (RCS) at the Japan Proton Accelerator Complex (J-PARC).As vacuum components are subjected to high levels of radiation in these devices, the TMP and the vacuum gauge used for monitoring the TMP’s back pressure should have high reliability and a long life so as to minimize exposure to radiation during maintenance. Moreover, to ascertain the vacuum conditions of the ring and to monitor the back pressure, the gauge should preferably be capable of measuring pressures from 0.1 Pa to 10³ Pa. To satisfy these requirements, the following measures were taken: All the components around the sensor head, including the connector and cables, were replaced with components that were guaranteed to perform satisfactorily even with a radiation dose greater than 30 MGy. Then, the semiconductor devices used in the measuring circuits were checked by using the four-point probe method and found to work satisfactorily at a distance of 150 m from the sensor. To measure higher pressures, the current control circuit was modified in such a way that the set value of the current increased in stages as the pressure increased. Further, it was ensured that the gauge showed high resistance to vibration and to an abrupt air intake as well as high radioactive resistance. The newly designed gauge head comprised a series of twelve Pt wires, each with a diameter of 100 μm. It was confirmed that pressures from 5 × 10⁻² Pa to atmospheric pressure were measurable with an accuracy of less than 30%.This Pt Pirani gauge has shown good performance in monitoring the back pressure of the TMP at the J-PARC RCS, where it has been in use since Oct. 2009.     

Vacuum system for the 3-GeV RCS in J-PARC

The 3-GeV RCS (rapid cycling synchrotron) in the J-PARC (Japan Accelerator Research Complex) project accelerates a proton beam of 0.333 mA up to 3 GeV. At 25-Hz repetition rate, the RCS generates a high-power beam of 1 MW. In such an accelerated proton beam, neutrons as well as gamma rays are generated. The cumulative energy dose will be of the order of 100 MGy over 30 years of operation. So as to minimize the radiation exposure during maintenance, it is necessary to construct a vacuum system with reliable components which have a long life in such a high level of radiation. In addition, it is necessary to keep the operating pressure of the beam in ultra high vacuum to suppress pressure instability. Thus we should think not only of the outgassing mainly due to ion-induced desorption but also of the pumping efficiency. Based on the above, the vacuum system was designed as follows: The ring is divided by isolation valves into 6 sections (3 straight and 3 arc sections), which can be pumped down independently. To avoid any eddy current loss, ceramic ducts are used in the bending and focusing magnets. These ducts are connected to titanium ducts placing the Ti bellows between. Here, we adopt pure Ti as a material for the ducts and bellows because of its small residual radioactivity. The ring is evacuated with 20 ion pumps (0.7 m³/s) and 24 turbomolecular pumps (TMPs) (1.3 m³/s), which are attached to the Ti ducts. The TMPs are used not only for rough pumping but also for evacuation during the beam operation. Especially a collimator system for localizing beam losses in a restricted area is evacuated with the TMPs, because the outgassing from this region will probably be the greatest. In addition, the straight sections for beam injection and extraction are pumped down mainly by the TMPs. Each arc section is pumped by 4 ion pumps and 2 TMPs. To realize the above system, we developed components such as large aperture ceramic ducts and TMPs with high radioactive resistance, as well as several kinds of heat treatment to reduce the outgassing. Finally, we realized the UHV without baking in the RCS and the beam operation has been successful to date.     

Study on vacuum brazing of high purity alumina for application in proton synchrotron

The paper describes an experimental study to evaluate two different vacuum brazing processes to obtain high purity alumina (99.7%) joints suitable for application in rapid cycle proton synchrotron. Two different brazing routes, adopted for making alumina–alumina brazed joints, included (i) multi-step Mo–Mn metallization, followed by brazing with BVAg-8 alloy and (ii) advanced single-step active brazing with CuSil-ABA® alloy. Both the brazing routes yielded helium leak tight and ultra-high vacuum (pressure < 10⁻⁹ mbar) compatible joints. Active-brazed specimens exhibited tensile and mean flexural strengths of 62 and 110 MPa, respectively. Metallized-brazed specimens, although associated with relatively lower tensile strength (35 MPa) than the targeted value (>50 MPa), displayed higher mean flexural strength of 149 MPa. The results of the study demonstrated that active brazing is a simple and cost effective alternative to conventional multi-step metallization route for producing quality joints of high purity alumina for application in rapid cycle proton synchrotron machine.     

Measurement of absorbed dose by 7-GeV bremsstrahlung in a PMMA phantom

High-energy electron storage rings generate energetic bremsstrahlung photons through radiative interaction of the particle beam with the residual gas molecules and other components inside the storage ring. At synchrotron radiation facilities, where beamlines are channeled out of the storage ring, a continuous bremsstrahlung spectrum, with a maximum energy of the stored particle beam, will be present. At the advanced photon source (APS), where the stored beam energy is 7 GeV, bremsstrahlung generated in the straight sections of the insertion device beamlines, which are a total of 15.38 m in length, can be significant. The contribution from each bremsstrahlung interaction adds up to produce a narrow mono-directional bremsstrahlung beam that comes down through the insertion device beamlines. The resulting absorbed dose distributions by this radiation in a 300 mm×300 mm×300 mm tissue substitute cube phantom were measured with LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-700) thermoluminescent dosemeters. The normalized absorbed dose, in a cross-sectional area of 100 mm² at a depth of 150 mm of the PMMA phantom, was measured as 3.3×10⁶ mGy h⁻¹W⁻¹ for 7-GeV bremsstrahlung spectrum.     

High-speed synchrotron X-ray phase contrast imaging for analysis of low-Z composite microstructure

The study of high performance composites such as plastic-bonded explosives under extreme conditions often requires innovative experimental techniques. Here, static synchrotron X-ray phase-contrast imaging (PCI) of simulated explosive materials has been performed at high speed in an effort to determine feasibility of imaging material response to dynamic, high-strain rate events (10²–10⁷ s^?1). The microstructure of pristine materials, idealized composites and simulated explosive composites has been characterized with synchrotron PCI at the Advanced Photon Source. High spatial resolution (2 μm) of the microstructure was achieved with 5 μs exposures, and features such as interfaces, cracks, voids, and bubbles were clearly observed. The likelihood of obtaining sufficient phase information at even faster exposures (e.g., 0.2–0.5 μs) is shown to be high.     

Calibration of ultrahigh vacuum gauge from 10−9 Pa to 10−5 Pa by the two-stage flow-dividing system

A new two-stage flow-dividing system has been developed for the calibration of ultrahigh vacuum gauges from 10⁻⁹ Pa to 10⁻⁵ Pa for N₂, Ar, and H₂. This system is designed based on the techniques for our previously developed calibration system in the range from 10⁻⁷ Pa to 10⁻² Pa. Three modifications were performed to extend the calibration pressure to a lower range. The relative standard uncertainty of the generated pressure (k = 1) is in the range from 2.3% to 2.6%, from 10⁻⁹ Pa to 10⁻⁵ Pa. The characteristics of ultrahigh vacuum gauges were also examined by using this system. The stabilities of the pressure reading, the linearity, the temperature dependence, and the long-term stability were examined. These results show that the calibration of ultrahigh vacuum gauges is possible in the range from 10⁻⁹ Pa to 10⁻⁵ Pa for N₂, Ar, and H₂ with the uncertainty of about 6.0% (k = 2) by this new system.     

Calibration of ultrahigh vacuum gauge from 10 Pa to 10 Pa by the two-stage flow-dividing system

A new two-stage flow-dividing system has been developed for the calibration of ultrahigh vacuum gauges from 10⁻⁹ Pa to 10⁻⁵ Pa for N₂, Ar, and H₂. This system is designed based on the techniques for our previously developed calibration system in the range from 10⁻⁷ Pa to 10⁻² Pa. Three modifications were performed to extend the calibration pressure to a lower range. The relative standard uncertainty of the generated pressure (k = 1) is in the range from 2.3% to 2.6%, from 10⁻⁹ Pa to 10⁻⁵ Pa. The characteristics of ultrahigh vacuum gauges were also examined by using this system. The stabilities of the pressure reading, the linearity, the temperature dependence, and the long-term stability were examined. These results show that the calibration of ultrahigh vacuum gauges is possible in the range from 10⁻⁹ Pa to 10⁻⁵ Pa for N₂, Ar, and H₂ with the uncertainty of about 6.0% (k = 2) by this new system.     

Luminescence studies of Ce:YAG using vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron radiation

Photoluminescence spectrum of Ce:YAG single crystal was studied employing vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron radiation. Intrinsic absorption edge at about 52,000 cm⁻¹ was observed in the absorption spectrum. From the VUV excitation spectrum, the energy of the highest d-component of 53,191 cm⁻¹ (188 nm) for the Ce³⁺ ions in YAG was obtained at 300 K. The disappearance of the third 5d level at 37,735 cm⁻¹ (265 nm) in absorption and excitation spectra in our samples may be due to the impurity Fe³⁺ ions absorption.     

Optical functions and time-resolved luminescence of lithium hydride single crystals upon far-ultraviolet excitation

Low-temperature reflection spectra of lithium hydride (LiH) single crystals cleaved in ultrahigh vacuum (3 × 10⁻¹⁰ Torr, T = 10 K), were recorded using synchrotron radiation in vacuum ultraviolet spectral region. Based on the obtained experimental data, the optical functions of LiH in the energy range from 3.7 to 35 eV were analyzed using the Kramers–Krönig relations. Time-resolved photoluminescence excitation spectra were studied in detail for the near edge free exciton-phonon luminescence at 4.67 eV and photoluminescence at 2.4 eV due to the Bi³⁺ impurity centers. The effect of multiplication of electronic excitations due to inelastic scattering of hot photoelectrons and hot photoholes was revealed at photon energies above 15 eV (more than 3E_g). It was found that the radiative lifetime for free excitons in LiH at 4.67 eV is less than 1 ns as low temperatures as at 10 K. The interpretation of the electronic band structure of lithium hydride in the ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet spectral regions were carried out on the basis of the present experimental results with the involvement of the available band structure calculations.     

Design of the vacuum system for Diamond, the UK third generation light source

The Diamond synchrotron, which is due to come into operation with beam for users in 2007, is being constructed at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxford. The design status of the vacuum system of the storage ring as at 31st December 2002 will be reported.Diamond is based on a 24 cell 3 GeV electron storage ring of 561.6 m circumference. As is the case for most such machines, the operational pressure has been specified as 10⁻⁹ mbar to give a beam lifetime >10 h at the design current of 300 mA. The storage ring vacuum system will use conventional technology and most of the vacuum vessels will be constructed of stainless steel. With the exception of the insertion device (ID) vacuum chambers, the ring has not been designed to be baked in situ, but all components will be vacuum baked as sub assemblies before installation. The vacuum system is designed to achieve the required pressure after 100 A h of beam conditioning using the pumping scheme, which will be described.Twenty-one ID straights are available for ID, of which seven will be installed at the start of operations. Three types of vacuum vessel will be used in these straights, a stainless-steel make-up pipe, a NEG coated narrow-gap vacuum chamber for conventional IDs and a wider vacuum chamber to house in vacua IDs. The ID straights have an isolation valve installed at each end, and in situ baking can be used in these restricted locations, for example to activate the NEG coatings.The vacuum system for the beam line front ends has been designed to provide good vacuum isolation between the storage ring and the experimental beam lines, whether or not an interposing window is fitted.Pumping schemes, pressure measurement and calculated pressure profiles will be described.     

Performance of the vacuum system for the PETRA III damping wiggler section

A record low horizontal emittance of 1 nm-rad was successfully obtained in PETRA III third generation synchrotron light source. A key system that allowed reaching such value includes 20 permanent magnet damping wigglers installed in two long straight sections. The wigglers radiate almost 1 MW at maximum current of hard X-ray radiation which issues a challenge for the design of SR absorbers and vacuum system components for the damping wiggler section. The paper describes in detail the design consideration, manufacturing and experimental performance of absorbers and vacuum system. The first experimental results of PETRA III damping wiggler section operation are presented.     

Thermal vacuum integrated system test at B-2

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC) Plum Brook Station (PBS) Space Propulsion Research Facility, commonly referred to as B-2, is NASA’s third largest thermal vacuum facility. It is the largest designed to store and transfer large quantities of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, and is perfectly suited to support developmental testing of chemical propulsion systems as well as fully integrated stages. The facility is also capable of providing thermal-vacuum simulation services to support testing of large lightweight structures, Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) systems, electric propulsion test programs, and other In-Space propulsion programs.A recently completed integrated system test demonstrated the refurbished thermal vacuum capabilities of the facility. The test used the modernized data acquisition and control system to monitor the facility during pump down of the vacuum chamber, operation of the liquid nitrogen heat sink (or cold wall) and the infrared lamp array. A vacuum level of 1.3 × 10^?4 Pa (1 × 10^?6 torr) was achieved. The heat sink provided a uniform temperature environment of approximately 77 K (139°R) along the entire inner surface of the vacuum chamber. The recently rebuilt and modernized infrared lamp array produced a nominal heat flux of 1.4 kW/m² at a chamber diameter of 6.7 m (22 ft) and along 11 m (36 ft) of the chamber’s cylindrical vertical interior. With the lamp array and heat sink operating simultaneously, the thermal systems produced a heat flux pattern simulating radiation to space on one surface and solar exposure on the other surface. The data acquired matched pretest predictions and demonstrated system functionality.     

A transparent vacuum window for high-intensity pulsed beams

The HiRadMat (High-Radiation to Materials) facility [1] will allow testing of accelerator components, in particular those of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, under the impact of high-intensity pulsed beams. To reach this intensity range, the beam will be focused on a focal point where the target to be tested is located. A 60 mm aperture vacuum window will separate the vacuum of the beam line which is kept under high vacuum 10⁻⁸ mbar, from the test area which is at atmospheric pressure. This window has to resist collapse due to beam passage. The high-intensity of the beam means that typical materials used for standard vacuum windows (such as stainless steel, aluminium and titanium alloy) cannot endure the energy deposition induced by the beam passage. Therefore, a vacuum window has been designed to maintain the differential pressure whilst resisting collapse due to the beam impact on the window. In this paper, we will present calculations of the energy transfer from beam to window, the design of the window and associated mechanical calculations.     

Low-resistance and highly transparent Ag/IZO ohmic contact to p-type GaN

The electrical, structural, and optical characteristics of Ag/ZnO-doped In₂O₃ (IZO) ohmic contacts to p-type GaN:Mg (2.5 × 10¹⁷ cm^− 3) were investigated. The Ag and IZO (10 nm/50 nm) layers were prepared by thermal evaporation and linear facing target sputtering, respectively. Although the as-deposited and 400 °C annealed samples showed rectifying behavior, the 500 and 600 °C annealed samples showed linear I-V characteristics indicative of the formation of an ohmic contact. The annealing of the contact at 600 °C for 3 min in a vacuum (~ 10^− 3 Torr) resulted in the lowest specific contact resistivity of 1.8 × 10^− 4 Ω·cm² and high transparency of 78% at a wavelength of 470 nm. Using Auger electron spectroscopy, depth profiling and synchrotron X-ray scattering analysis, we suggested a possible mechanism to explain the annealing dependence of the electrical properties of the Ag/IZO contacts.     

Initiation and growth behaviour of small internal fatigue cracks in Ti‐6Al‐4V via synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography

Small internal fatigue cracks initiated in Ti‐6Al‐4V in the very high cycle regime were detected by synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography (SR‐μCT) at SPring‐8 in Japan. The initiation and growth behaviours of the cracks were nondestructively observed, and the da/dN‐ΔK relationship was measured and compared with that obtained in a high vacuum environment. SR‐μCT revealed that more than 20 cracks were initiated in one specimen. The crack initiation life varied widely from 20% to 70% of the average fatigue life and had little influence on the growth behaviour that followed. The initiation site size of each internal crack detected in one specimen was comparable with the size of the fracture origins obtained in ordinary fatigue tests. These results suggest that the surrounding microstructures around the initiation site are likely a dominant factor on the internal fracture rather than the potential initiation site itself. The internal crack growth rates were lower than 10^?10 m/cycle, and extremely slow rates ranging from 10^?13 to 10^?11 m/cycle were measured in a lower ΔK regime below 5 MPa√m. The internal crack growth rate closely matched that of surface cracks in a high vacuum, and the reason for the very long life of internal fatigue fractures was believed to result from the vacuum‐like environment inside the internal cracks.     

Non-destructive observation of internal fatigue crack growth in Ti–6Al–4V by using synchrotron radiation μCT imaging

The propagation of an internal fatigue crack in Ti–6Al–4V was non-destructively observed by synchrotron radiation μCT imaging to clarify the crack growth rate in very high cycle fatigue. The results show that the internal crack propagated quite slowly at a rate of less than 10⁻¹⁰ m/cycle. The propagation rate of an internal crack was compared with that of a surface crack in air and in high vacuum to examine the internal fracture process in terms of the environment around the crack. The rate of the internal crack was similar to that of the surface crack in high vacuum, but was significantly lower than that in air. This led us to conclude that the low propagation rate of the internal crack is due to the vacuum-like environment inside the crack.     

High Accuracy Ultraviolet Index of Refraction Measurements Using a Fourier Transform Spectrometer

We have constructed a new facility at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to measure the index of refraction of transmissive materials in the wavelength range from the visible to the vacuum ultraviolet. An etalon of the material is illuminated with synchrotron radiation, and the interference fringes in the transmittance spectrum are measured using a Fourier transform spectrometer. The refractive index of calcium fluoride, CaF₂, has been measured from 600 nm to 175 nm and the resulting values agree with a traditional goniometric measurement to within 1 × 10⁻⁵. The uncertainty in the index values is currently limited by the uncertainty in the thickness measurement of the etalon.