Fermilab researchers may have found an unexpected way to improve SRF cavity performance: adding impurities
Like a jeweler hunting for a flawless diamond, for years, researchers have pursued purity in the niobium material used to make superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities. But a team at Fermilab recently discovered that adding a bit of impurity may actually improve cavity performance. This year, a team led by Fermilab scientist Anna Grassellino found that […]
US members of the Linear Collider Collaboration make plans for a new stage of industrialisation studies.
With the publication of the Technical Design Report (TDR), one stage of design and costing for the ILC is complete. Now, US members of the Linear Collider Collaboration must consider what ILC components the US might contribute—and how they will be produced. By contracting with industry to consider details such as cost and facilities needed, […]
Fermilab and Faraday Technology Inc. are developing an environmentally and worker friendly electropolishing technique for SRF cavities
The standard electropolishing process for SRF cavities requires a mixture of strong, potentially hazardous acids to smooth the inner surfaces of the cavities, allowing them to reach high gradients. Researchers at Fermilab and Faraday Technology Inc. have developed a new water-based process that would be both safer for workers and more environmentally friendly. In June, […]
CesrTA collaborators work to improve the ILC’s damping ring design
The CesrTA (Cornell Electron Storage Ring Test Accelerator) collaboration at Cornell University, US, made important contributions to the design of the ILC damping rings for the recently completed Technical Design Report, including finding ways to reduce a phenomenon known as the electron cloud effect. Post-TDR, the collaboration is pursuing ways to make the damping rings […]
A summer intern at Jefferson Laboratory is excited about the ILC – and he’s got the tattoo to prove it.
From a wave function equation to a CERN bubble chamber image, the tattoos physics enthusiasts sport are wide-ranging. But is the ILC represented? Thanks to Gabriel Palacios, a physics engineering student who interned at Jefferson Lab (US) this summer, it is. Palacios, who currently studies at Mexico City’s Metropolitan Autonomous University, had the ILC accelerator […]
Fermilab researchers make headway towards improving SRF cavities by understanding more about how hydrides may limit their quality factors
Hydrogen has long been known as a possible enemy of superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities – like those needed for the ILC – because of its potential to form non-superconducting hydrides that limit cavity quality factor (Q) and gradient. Researchers at Fermilab have made further progress in understanding the full physics behind hydrogen involvement, which is […]
Fermilab reinstalls CM2, plans to be ready for cooldown in July
With the repair and reinstallation of the cryomodule known as CM2, researchers at Fermilab, US, are back on the road towards achieving the International Linear Collider’s R&D goal (named task force “S1”): operating a cryomodule at ILC gradient specifications. Originally installed in May 2012 as a part of the Advanced Superconducting Test Accelerator (ASTA) in […]
SLAC prepares for a test beam of an electromagnetic calorimeter specific to the proposed SiD detector
Researchers are taking a step towards the realisation of the International Linear Collider’s (ILC) SiD detector with a test beam of a SiD-specific electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) planned for this month at SLAC. This initial test beam could actually be considered a “test” test beam, as this run will utilise a partial calorimeter. Researchers involved in […]
A group of SLAC physicists and engineers celebrate the handover of the ILC Technical Design Report.
The University of Tokyo, CERN and Fermilab weren’t the only locations celebrating the handover of the International Linear Collider’s (ILC) Technical Design Report on 12 June. SLAC employees who have worked on the ILC had a party of their own: the group watched a live stream of the American event and enjoyed a cake topped […]