Continued conditioning of the Fermilab 400 MeV linac high-gradient side-coupled cavities

The high-energy portion of the Fermilab 400 MeV Linac is made of high gradient (37 MV/meter surface field) side-coupled cavity sections which were conditioned over a 10 month period before their installation in August of 1993. We have continued to monitor the conditioning of these cavities since that time while the cavities have been in operation, and those results are presented here. The sparking rate and the X-ray production are measured and compared with the 1992/3 pre-operational and 1993/4 early operational measurements. These rates are consistent with a continued diminishing of these phenomena. Predictions and spark management strategies presented in earlier reports are evaluated in light of present experiences. We also have been measuring the sparking rate within this structure with and without our 50 mA peak beam. We find that the sparking rate is 20% higher with beam in the accelerator. (author)