Our Collaborations
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- CLOSED LOOP WIRE SCANNER ACTUATOR CONTROL FOR LANSCE ACCELERATOR BEAM PROFILE MEASUREMENTS
The design and test of a new beam-profile wire-scanner actuator for the LANSCE(Los Alamos Neutron Science Center) 800-MeV proton linear accelerator is described. Previous actuator implementations use open-loop stepper-motor control for position indexing. A fixed-frequency, fixed-duration pulse train is sent to the stepper motor driving the linear actuator. This has lead to either uncertainties in position due to mechanical resonances and electrical noise or slowing down actuator operation.. A real-time, closed loop control system is being developed and tested for more repeatable and accurate positioning of beam sense wires. The use of real-time controller allows one to generate a velocity profile for precise, resonance-free wire position indexing. High radiation levels in the beam tunnel, dictate the use of an electro-magnetic resolver, typically, used in servo applications, as the position feedback element. Since the resolver is an inherently analog device, sophisticated digital signal processing is required to generate and interpret the waveforms that the feedback mechanism needs for positioning. All of the electronic and computational duties are handled in one the National Instruments compact RIO real-time chassis with a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). - MODBUS/TCP CONTROLLER FOR THE POWER SUPPLIES IN ALS BTS BEAM LINE
The development, testing and commissioning of a self-contained power supply controller for four 100 KW power supplies for the upgraded Booster to Storage Ring (BTS) beam line at the Advanced Light Source( ALS) at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, is presented. The power supply controller is a 3U high, rack-mount chassis that contains the regulation control-loop amplifiers, 16-bit DAC with microcontroller and a micro PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) for power-supply state-machine control. Local control is achieved via push-buttons and a color LCD touch screen. Remote control is mediated via micro PLC using embedded Modbus/TCP. Using a unique, data logging system, the operational parameters of the regulation loop can be safely monitored and recorded while the system is running at full power. The entire design is based on optimum reliability, safety and ease of troubleshooting and repair. A modular design for key control components, allows the power supply to operate in a nominal mode, even if one or two ancillary internal modules fail. This allows for continued beam operation until it is convenient to service the unit, keeping beam availability as high as possible. - FULL REAL-TIME TEMPERATURE MAPPING SYSTEM FOR 1.3 GHZ 9-CELL CAVITIES
The mapping of outer-wall temperatures during the vertical test of a superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavity has been one of the most successful tools in studying the cavity loss mechanisms. However, due to the excessive number of sensors needed, no fixed-type temperature mapping (T-mapping) system that covers all cells has been built for 9-cell cavities. With the consensus that T-mapping analysis is needed in order to improve the yield of high-gradient cavities, a system with a reduced data acquisition time and increased temperature sensitivity, compared to rotating-arm systems, has been developed at LANL. The system consists of 4608 100-ohm 1/8W Allen-Bradley resistors placed azimuthally every 10 degrees, a similar number of other resistors and diodes that implement the switching scheme, and data acquisition codes written in LabView. The details of the system and first results are presented and discussed. - DIGITAL CONTROL INTERFACE FOR BIPOLAR CORRECTOR POWER SUPPLIES FOR LCLS
We detail the development, testing and commissioning of a single-board digital interface for modular bipolar corrector magnet power supplies to be installed at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC). The sixteen-channel VME-form-factor board replaces the passive control-interface board in the MCOR (Magnet Corrector) Chassis. The board is a self-contained system with both serial and Ethernet connectivity intended for use with an EPICS accelerator control system IOC, however, the ASCII protocol allows generic computer control. The interface card contains 16 independent ADC and DAC channels, each with 16 bits of resolution. Additionally, the interlock, fault, reset and digital control lines are remotely controllable via either the serial or Ethernet connections. The design has been planned so that a mini-IOC can be included on board for direct Channel Access connectivity. - COMPACT PCI/PXI BASED HIGH VOLTAGE CARDS
High voltage power modules find uses in many applications like the Photo multiplier Tubes (PMT), Ionization chambers, CRT systems testing, high voltage biasing for Avalanche Photodiodes, Photo detectors, X-ray tubes, Pulse generators which are used in radars, lasers, EMC testing and other imaging applications. Providing high voltage, to these applications, which can be remotely controlled in a small, confined area, is a problem many laboratories around the world face. The LV and the HV series of high voltage systems present experimenters with voltages ranging from several hundreds upto +/- 5kV in a rugged CompactPCI / PXI chassis, running National Instruments’ LabView. The CompactPCI architecture offers modularity, tight integration and low cost. Apart from that, the deterministic and real time nature of the operating system (LabView) also allows these modules to be remotely controlled and monitored over the Ethernet. The high voltage cards can be easily custom tailored to a particular voltage and current requirement.
