Absolute beam flux measurement at NDCX-I using gold-melting calorimetry technique

We report on an alternative way to measure the absolute beam flux at the NDCX-I, LBNL linear accelerator. Up to date, the beam flux is determined from the analysis of the beam-induced optical emission from a ceramic scintilator (Al-Si). The new approach is based on calorimetric technique, where energy flux is deduced from the melting dynamics of a gold foil. We estimate an average 260 kW/cm2 beam flux over 5 (micro)s, which is consistent with values provided by the other methods. Described technique can be applied to various ion species and energies.