IPNS accelerator system and neutron chopper synchronization

Several of the neutron scattering instruments at the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) at Argonne use neutron choppers for monochromatization of the neutron beam. Since the neutron burst is produced by a proton beam extracted from the Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (RCS), precise synchronization must be maintained between the RCS and the chopper aperture to minimize the degradation of energy resolution. The first attempts at synchronization were made in 1978 on the ZING-P' facility with a single chopper. Synchronization was further complicated after IPNS began operating in 1981 when a total of three chopper experiments came on-line. The system in use during that period of time was able to maintain synchronization with typical data collection efficiencies ranging from 20 to 70%. A synchronization system improvement, installed in late 1982, increased the data collection efficiencies of all the IPNS chopper systems to 99+%. The development of the RCS and neutron chopper synchronization system is described together with a detailed description of the present system