Even if the ILC can’t solve the remaining riddles of particle physics yet, its development already does some good. The latest example: two labs at DESY where components for the ILC are developed and tested helped to improve physics classes at German high schools. Ten German teachers participated in the first teacher training programme about […]
Hydrides: the nemesis of high-quality SRF cavities?
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 […]
Advances in SCRF cavity performance in the Technical Design Phase
This week's issue features a Director's Corner from Akira Yamamoto, Project Manager for the Global Design Effort
The current ILC superconducting radiofrequency (SCRF) cavity design is based on the so-called TESLA type (the elliptical shape as shown at left), a 1.3-gigahertz (GHz) nine-cell cavity. The design gradient has been set at 35 megavolts per metre (MV/m) and an average quality factor (Q0) of greater than 8×109 to realise the stable, long-term operation […]
Argonne-Fermilab BCP System Coming Together
To make the superconducting cavities for the ILC sparkle, they must undergo a series of surface treatments to make them as clean and pure as possible – a necessity for achieving high accelerating gradients. Electropolishing and Buffered Chemical Polishing, the two types of chemical treatments required for the cavities, are not simple tasks. They involve […]