CLIC now entering phase two
NCLinac (WP9 of EuCARD) includes improvements to the CLIC test facility CTF3 at CERN. Image credit: CERN
Building on the success of their feasibility phase, the CLIC test facility, CTF3, has just launched into a five-year project development phase. This will involve detailed performance optimisation studies, marking the project’s transition from pure research and development to prototyping and construction.
CTF3’s second phase will focus on selected performance-related research areas for further investigation. The largest of these involves the construction and testing of several authentic CLIC accelerator modules that are currently being assembled at CERN (see image).
Four of the CLIC modules will undergo mechanical testing in laboratory conditions, where they will have their alignment, stabilization and thermal cycling tested. These tests will be done over the next 2 years outside of the CTF3 facility. The remaining three modules will be installed in CTF3’s experimental area. Two further modules will be added in 2014, and will incorporate results from both the laboratory and CTF3 tests.
Alongside the module testing, the CTF3 team will be working to provide synchronicity between CLIC’s drive beam and its main beam. This is accomplished by compensating for any phase “jitters” by adjusting the path length of the drive beam. Phase monitors and a kicker system (which will adjust the beam path) are currently being installed in the facility, and the first system tests are planned for next summer.
Article originally in CERN Bulletin.
Reproduced with permission.
