Design and performance of the beam loss monitor system for the advanced photon source

The design of the beam loss monitor system for the Argonne National Laboratory Advanced Photon Source is based on using a number of air dielectric coaxial cables as long ionization chambers. The coaxial cables are multiplexed into a high sensitivity DC current-to-voltage converter, which provides an output proportional to the average loss rate over the length of the multiplexed cable. Losses of sufficient amplitude generate measurable voltage pulses on the coaxial cable at a location near the loss point. Multiplexed pulse timing circuits determine the location of the losses by measuring the time at which these voltage pulses arrive at the beginning of the coaxial cable. The loss monitor system has been tested on the SPEAR accelerator at SSRL and was demonstrated to be as sensitive as the DCCT. Preliminary performance data from the APS injector show that the sensitivities of the current-to-voltage converter circuit are about ten picoamperes of loss monitor signal per picocoulomb per second beam loss rate. The corresponding pulse sensitivity is about 28 μV pulse amplitude in the coaxial cable per picocoulomb of loss. Both these sensitivities are at 300-MeV beam energies. The loss monitor has proven useful in initial commissioning of the injector. Further data will be available as accelerator construction and commissioning continue. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics