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DOE Pulse
  • Number 296  |
  • September 28, 2009

American-made SRF cavity makes the grade

DOE's Jefferson Lab marked a step forward in the field of advanced particle accelerator technology with the successful test of the first U.S.-built superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) niobium cavity to meet the exacting specifications of the proposed International Linear Collider (ILC).

Cavities are crucial components of particle accelerators, or colliders, harnessing the energy that the collider pumps into a beam of particles. If built, the ILC would require about 16,000 niobium cavities, and vendors worldwide are now vying to produce test cavities that meet the ILC's stringent performance goals.
This cavity was developed as part of a DOE-funded R&D effort. The cavity, owned by DOE's Fermilab, was manufactured by Advanced Energy Systems, Inc., and underwent processing, final assembly and testing at Jefferson Lab.

Testing revealed that the cavity's accelerating gradient, its ability to impart energy to particles, was 41 megavolts per meter, far exceeding the GDE specification of 35 MV/m. The cavity is now slated for installation in a test section of particle accelerator, a cryomodule, that will be assembled at Fermilab.

[Kandice Carter, 757.269.7263,
kcarter@jlab.org]