The International Development Team (IDT) was established in August 2020, and its Working Group 2 has been conducting preparatory accelerator work for the ILC Pre-Lab. Working Group 2 currently has about 40 members. In the Pre-Lab, the following accelerator-related tasks are expected to be performed: (1) Technical preparations. (2) Final technical design and documentation. (3) […]
STF-2 Beam Operation Demonstrates ILC Specifications
Superconducting cavities are a ‘hot’ topic
Superconducting cavities are an important part of the design for many international accelerator projects. These particle-accelerating structures are used for many different accelerators from those that produce brilliant light for investigating the microcosm of atoms and molecules to those that let elementary particles collide with each other to understand the beginning of the universe. The […]
From the world to America: seeding superconducting accelerator technology through the ILC
The superconducting technology at the heart of the future International Linear Collider is one of the outstanding innovations of the machine’s design. Of international heritage, ILC-type superconducting acceleration has borne American offspring, including technology for the newest kid on the block, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s light source LCLS II, scheduled to begin operations in late […]
‘A little dirt never hurt’
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 […]
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 […]
Triple milestone for Cornell’s ERL programme
Almost invariably, when superconducting accelerator cavities undergo performance tests, they present a dual personality that leaves researchers scratching their heads. When the niobium structure is stood upright (on a test stand), its quality factor mimics its posture – it measures high. But when the same cavity is placed horizontally in a cryomodule, its quality factor […]
ILC technology in the Guinness Book of World Records!
The capability for producing niobium sheets
The International Linear Collider will need about 16,000 superconducting radiofrequency cavities, devices that accelerate electrons and their antiparticles, positrons, along microwaves to near speed of light. These cavities are made out of pure niobium, which means the ILC community needs 500 tonnes of high-purity niobium processed into nice, smooth sheets. In the industrial session held […]
Advancing superconducting accelerating technology
A report from the TESLA Technology Collaboration meeting and the ILC-GDE SCRF meeting held in China last month
TESLA, which stands for TeV-Energy Superconducting Linear Accelerator, is the name of a former planned collider using an accelerating technology closely linked with the ILC. To some extent, TESLA can be said to be the predecessor of ILC technology. As time has gone by, TESLA technology has expanded its meaning to include superconducting radiofrequency (SCRF) […]