Accelerator activities at the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata

The Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) at Kolkata indigenously developed the first large accelerator in the country, the room temperature cyclotron K-130 during seventies which is still delivering ions beams to the users spread all over the country for research in nuclear science and applied physics. VECC, with its vast experience and expertise in accelerator technology, took up the challenging task of constructing the first superconducting cyclotron in the country the K500 superconducting cyclotron. It has also been commissioned with internal beam. The problems associated with getting the external beam are analysed in detail since last one year and some of them are fixed. Efforts are on to get external beam from the K500 cyclotron and it is expected that soon it will also deliver beams to the users. In order to study structure of unstable nuclei that are very neutron rich or proton rich, an ISOL based RIB facility is under-development at VECC. Several components of this facility have already been tested and installed. VECC is also working on to build a world class national accelerator facility called ANURIB (Advanced National facility for Unstable and Rare Isotope Beams) at the new campus in Kolkata. This facility will serve a wide user community in nuclear and material sciences. VECC is also setting up a medical cyclotron to produce proton beam with energy up to 30 MeV and current up to 350 μA, to produce various isotopes for medical applications. This cyclotron will also be used for R and D in material science and to settle the various problems related with handling of high beam current on ADS related components. Apart from these main facilities VECC is also involved in the R and D activities related with accelerators such as studies on using cyclotrons to achieve high power proton beam, development and testing of superconducting cavities, development of superconducting magnets for FAIR project etc. (author)