IR FEL Monthly Report for September 1997

Navy IR Demo Contract WBS Elements

WBS 1 Project Management

September 1997 was the fifteenth full month for the IR FEL Demo project funded by the Navy.

Cost Performance Scheduling

We have expanded the discussion of cost performance/scheduling in this monthly report, which is the last month of the IR Demo Construction project.

The IR FEL Demo project through the month of September 1997 has a total of $8,083k (less SRF and the building) of performance scheduled. The work performed through the current period is $7,766k or 96% complete versus 100% scheduled. The actual costs accrued through September totals $7,674k. This results in a negative schedule variance of $317k and a positive cost variance of $92k.

As of the end of September 1997, $8,061k has been costed and/or obligated ($7,674k in actual costs and $387k in current obligations). The project was completed and closed out at $8,061k or $21k under the budgeted cost. The customer was billed for all costs to include the outstanding obligations. These outstanding commitments will be followed through to completion in monthly reports through December 1997.

Management

The official milestone date for the completion of the IR Demo construction project was Sept. 30. This milestone was defined as completion of the FEL User Facility with installed FEL hardware ready for start of commissioning. The FEL project team thanks all the Jefferson staff, contractors, and collaborators who have helped us reach this important milestone. Readers of this report know that some installation activities will remain after the Sept. 30 milestone, however, these tasks have been staged to not impede start-up of commissioning activities.

The IR Demo Construction Project Close-Out Review was held on Oct. 2-3. The review was attended by the staff and management of the Navy High Energy Laser Office, the DOE Site Office, Adm. (ret.) Ted Parker (representing SURA's Maritime Technical Advisory Committee), and Bill Colson from the Naval Post Graduate School. The review agenda included a summary of the technical, cost, and schedule status of the IR Demo construction project (which was officially completed on Sept. 30th), and also included discussions of the plans for commissioning and initial operation of the FEL. On Oct. 3, a workshop was held on FEL optics development and implications of coherent synchrotron radiation on FEL design.

On Sept. 4, F. Dylla met with BES Chemical Sciences Program Management, Bob Marianelli and Andrew DePristo, at DOE-BES headquarters. The first nine IR FEL pre-proposals were delivered for review by BES.

On Sept. 11, Bob Marianelli and Eric Rohlfing from the DOE-BES Program Office, and Dan Lehman from the DOE-ER Construction Management Office visited the laboratory to review the progress on the IR Demo project and discuss future DOE interactions. Eric Rohlfing is reviewing the BES pre-proposals in Chemical Sciences that were submitted to DOE on Sept. 4. BES management requested the project commissioning schedule and a listing of current and potential university collaborators (particularly at the local universities). We also discussed the options available for extending the IR Demo wavelength range. Of particular interest to BES is the mid-to-far IR range because of the scientific applications noted in the 1994 NAS Study. Note: that the IR Demo with the present 42 MeV linac can deliver long wavelength radiation to approximately 25 mm. A brief white paper on the wavelength upgrade options available to the IR Demo will be prepared for BES.

H. Grunder and F. Dylla made a presentation on Sept. 10 to SURA Executive Committee on the status of FEL program. A related discussion concerned possible involvement of the SURA Materials Council with FEL User Lab proposals and sponsorship of a proposed workshop on Laser Processing in January 1999.

Jefferson Laboratory's annual Science and Technology Review was held Sept. 17-19 as a required component of SURA's contract with DOE to operate the laboratory. Three review team members of seven that paid particular attention to the FEL Program presentation were John Galayda (Advanced Photon Source), Erik Johnson (BNL) and Steve Laderman (Hewlett Packard Laboratories). Good marks were received on the execution of IR Demo construction project, including resolution of issues that were identified at the mid-project DOE review in February. The recent attention given by the FEL Program Management was encouraged to continue to develop basic science applications which complement the existing industrial and Navy applications.

F. Dylla and a number of LPC collaborators attended a workshop on Sept. 21-24 called "Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics" sponsored by the DOE-BES Program Office. In working sessions on low field, high field, and surface phenomena, the potential use was noted of 3rd and 4th generation light sources (including specific mention of the Jefferson Lab FEL).

On Sept. 23, Jefferson Lab hosted the Virginia Technology Council, which included discussions of continuing support of the FEL User Facility and Applied Research Center in the Commonwealth's "Technology Blueprint" being prepared by CIT and the Council.

Jim Cox, Chairman of the ODU Physics Dept. visited the week of Sept. 5 to discuss interactions with the FEL program, particularly new members of the ODU atomic physics faculty.

On Sept. 15, Tony Favale and Alan Todd from Northrop Grumman visited the laboratory to discuss continuation of our collaborative R&D activities for next year.

WBS 5.0 Instrumentation & Controls

Regarding instrumentation and control systems:

All of the beam viewers and BPM's and the multi-slit from the gun to the injector dump were installed and wired up. The system checkouts continuethe BPM and viewer software will be ready in mid-October. The back leg girders have also been completed. The wide chamber beam viewers had a problem with the threads cut for the turnbuckle; the left hand thread pitch was off slightly causing the turnbuckle used for alignment to wobble. These are being re-cut in the Jefferson Lab shop. The 4-channel BPM filter banks are arriving and being installed. These are required to interface the stripline BPMs to the recycled 4-channel electronics. The (prototype) VME buffer board for the video multiplexing of the beam viewers (and laser monitors) is complete and documented. This is now being used to commission the EPICS software and control screens. The initial beam test does not require the mux but it may be ready.

The PSS (Personnel Safety System) system has been certified, which includes the accelerator enclosure and access control. The peripherals are added as needed; the gun high voltage power supply, laser PSS shutters and the high power DC supplies are connected but the RF systems are not. These systems will be included when the RF commissioning is complete. At this point, the RF systems are being run into shorts and are not connected the SRF cavities. The ODH (Oxygen Deficiency Hazard) monitoring system has also been certified. These safety systems are recertified semi-annually.

The beam dump LCW (Low Conductivity Water) system and associated instrumentation is being fabricated and tested. The controls for the dump skid (pump & polisher) are complete and operational. Each of the three beam dumps and the beam scrapers have identical instrumentation and the control chassis are nearly complete. The insertable dumps also require an interface chassis for each. The water system has been checked for leaks but has not yet been filled with clean water.

The vacuum system is operational through the control system. The controls have been tested for all devices that have been installed in the tunnel. The connections to the MPS (Machine Protection System) still has to be tested as well as the fast valve logic.

The design review was held for the MPS. There is a list of issues to be addressed but nothing that will hold up operations. The CAMAC version of the beam loss monitors will be used for the beam operations this fall, The new VME version will be operational for operations following the January CHL (Central Helium Liquifier) shut down. The CAMAC FSD (Fast Shut Down) boards are being used for the RF interface to the "P1" line. This is the beam inhibit in the event an RF system shuts down due to an interlock fault. This prevents uncontrolled beam loss due to a change in energy. System level design continues defining the devices associated with the four beam modes and the four machine modes.

The AMS (Analog Monitoring System) continues to make progress, both the backplane and the buffer boards are ready for assembly. The buffer boards will be sent out for fabrication once the first article is tested and accepted. One hold up is the delay in shipping of one of the card-edge connectors. We are working this but delivery looks like early Nov. The analog-to-fiber chassis arrived but the frequency response falls short of 1 MHz. This unit is used to transmit the AMS signals to the MCC (~.5 km). The frequency response within the FEL building should be flat to over 20 MHz.

The DC power trim racks have been powered up and checked for the locations where magnets exist in the tunnel. The large box supplies and the chicane supplies have been checked out and operated into loads using EPICS. The magnets in the injector have been run through the control system and have had their field polarity checked.

Control cables for the optical transport and mirror cans are in place. The cables are being terminated and tested as the devices arrive. The access control hardware for the user lab Laser Safety Systems is arriving and being checked out. Magnetic locks are being installed as well as the PLCs. The installation is proceeding slowly due to the lack of manpower, this will change in October as the tunnel will be locked up at ~15:00 each day for commissioning activities. The smart card entry software and database was contracted out and is progressing well. This will be ready for an operational test by early November.

The Hewlett Packard workstations and X-Terminals are all on-site and are being set-up in the building. There has been a problem logging into the new servers with the X-terminals, this is being worked with HP. The workstations should be operational by mid-October, these have been delayed because of conflicts with personnel supporting the CEBAF systems. The software for high voltage conditioning of the gun is being tested, this will allow hands-off gun start-up. The controls interface for operating the high voltage power supply from the control room are complete. The voltage and current read backs are connected through EPICS and patched to the table top. These signals are also available on the projector for ease of viewing.


WBS 7 Beam Transport

The system is at 91% of budgeted cost of work scheduled. Of 27 dipoles magnets, 8 are installed, the remainder are in assembly or measurement. Of 55 quadrupoles and sextupoles, 36 are ready or installed and the remainder are in fabrication or measurement. Of 65 (low dollar value) correctors and air core skew quadrupoles, 12 are on hand or installed with the remainder mostly in fabrication due in October. Most stands and girders are installed. Most of the vacuum system is installed with the outstanding arc chambers on hand but awaiting resolution of a magnetic welds issue. Of 6 dumps and one scraper, 2 are installed and 4 are on hand. The inner workings of the scraper is still in design. Of the power supplies and cabling, all DC supplies are installed with AC supplies for 3 raster magnets and cable connection still in process. Of utilities, LCW mains and air lines and nitrogen lines are installed with connections in process.

Three issues are outstanding. In the dipole area, fringe fields from injection and extraction chicane dipoles need to be shielded from adjacent 10 MeV beam lines. We are studying this problem with TOSCA finite element model. In the sextupole area, the pole tips still need final definition and subsequent machining. This shape will be obtained with measurements on the prototype. In the vacuum system, as stated earlier, welds on beam chambers for one style of reverse bend (DQs) and the 180 degree dipoles (DYs) drive field uniformity slightly out of specification. We are studying multiple options such as: install as-is, brazing, replacing local weld with inconel and local annealing

Remaining Installation Work can be summarized:

Assemble 6 dipoles, finish 8 quadrupoles and complete fabrication of 53 correctors

Measure and install the above plus 16 in-process magnets.

Weld and install arc vacuum chambers and their vacuum electronics and controls.

Hook up cabling, LCW cooling and instrument air.

We substantially met the goal of having the required hardware in place (on site) by September 30 for start-up of commissioning.

WBS 8 RF Systems

In the Injector, zone 1, the RF systems for the buncher and quarter cryomodule were successfully tested into waveguide shorts under local control. They will be operated under software control next month. The Master Oscillator installation is complete. The new divide by 40 chassis is installed. Preliminary tests of the phase stability with the drive laser system were started and look good. In the Linac, zone 2, testing of the low level RF control system was halted to concentrate on the Injector zone. The full cryomodule was aligned and cooled to 2°K. The second spare 50 kW klystron was again tested unsuccessfully. High body current was the problem. The klystron is to be shipped back to the vendor next month. The first Hipotronics 225 kW variable DC power supply was successfully tested with a small load. The second unit will be repaired next month. The location of the buncher water skid was moved again due to space requirements of other equipment. Buncher testing will be done in October. The assembly and preliminary testing of the 500 kV high voltage power supply and transmission system was done this month. Additional modifications and testing are scheduled for October. Modified software for the Injector and Linac was installed and partially tested. Additional cleanup work remains for October.

WBS 9.2 Injector Move

All injector subsystems before the quarter cryounit were essentially complete by months end. The high voltage power supply was operational up to the conditioning voltage of 420 keV. Enough of the optical transport line was installed to deliver light from the drive laser to the cathode. The RF systems were installed to begin commissioning of the buncher cavity. All magnets and diagnostics before the cryounit were installed and tested. Finally, 350 kV beam was run at low current to the first viewer. After the cryounit, the beamline was complete with the exception of dipoles. The RF systems for the cryounit are completely installed and are in final check before final waveguide hookup and commissioning.

WBS 9.4 Wiggler

The wiggler vacuum chamber was welded and straightened to within the required stay-clear envelope. It was then successfully fitted up into its support. The wiggler viewers were completed and assembled. Final assembly and installation will be carried out when all parts are cleaned and checked for particulate.

WBS 9.6 Optics

This month, the right angle valve for the upstream optical cavity assembly passed particulate and vacuum tests and was installed. The 5.5 in. calcium fluoride window used for the Brewster window on the output coupler side of the cavity was clamped in its holder without incident. These components were installed on the assembly, completing it, save the insertable pellicle assemblies. These will be installed next month. We ran tests to see if the optical cavity mirror holder could be replaced without disturbing the alignment, and found that we could, within the accuracy of the measurement (~ 0.5 mrad). Discussions with the two optics companies producing cavity mirrors resulted in plans for them to send their test plates to China Lake for calibration. It appears we will have the next iteration of first light optics available for metrological testing before the end of next month.

The rest of the components for the mirror cassettes were awarded this month. The vacuum components needed to make the bodies began arriving this month. Assembly will begin in November, with installation beginning no later than December. Procurement of insertable dump hardware began this week. It is on schedule for a December installation. The cameras monitoring the FEL optical transport system mirrors were assembled in their holders, installation will occur in October.

The drive laser was operated approximately 70 hrs to check out the new divide-by-40 hardware and associated electronics. Phase drift was controlled very well; the error signal was no more than 0.4 deg. peak-to-peak. Drift was quite low, about +/- 0.1 deg. Minor problems with control of the hardware were resolved, and the suite of laser beam controls (minus the rf controls) was successfully moved to FELSRV. We also completed installation and alignment of the mirror cans and telescope box for the drive laser optical transport system (OTS). A red He-Ne in the drive laser clean room transmitted by the OTS enters the light box, but is not centered on the photocathode. We plan to complete the alignment in early October. A green He-Ne (Gre-Ne) laser was installed on the light box stand and was aligned to transmit a beam onto the photocathode. Once calibrated, this setup provides a convenient check of the photocathode quantum efficiency. This laser system was used to produce photoelectrons during the recommissioning of the gun.

Injector, SRF, Facility, and Other Activities Outside Navy IR Demo Contract

INJECTOR TEST STAND

WBS 3 - CRYOMODULE

Linac Cryomodule

The injector quarter cryomodule and linac cryomodule have been prepared for commissioning. This will occur in October as soon as the FEL schedule allows. Commissioning is expected to be routine.

Warm Windows

The quarter cryomodule 50 kW warm RF windows are still in fabrication. As soon as metalized ceramics are in-house we will assemble three additional windows, bringing our inventory to four.

WBS 2 -- BEAM PHYSICS

Detailed analysis of the longitudinal emittance data from the 350 kV gun experiments conducted over the last weeks of the Injector Test Stand Program is now essentially complete. The analysis strongly suggests that there was an error in the measurement of the bunch charge for the long pulse, high current setup. Specifically, simulation (PARMELA) results closely match the phase-space data if the input bunch charge is 175 pC rather than the 135 pC measured with the picoammeters. Accordingly, we will pay special attention to bunch charge measurements as we commission and operate the gun in the FEL Facility. It is difficult to infer a precise value for the rms longitudinal emittance in the ITS experiments because the measurement is dominated by uncertainties caused by finite slit size. However, an upper bound is 44 keV-deg at 175 pC bunch charge, which compares favorably with the 50 keV-deg required at the wiggler, although if the upper bound is close to the real value, there is little margin. Nevertheless, all indications are that gun operations at 350 kV produce an electron beam with phase-space properties that meet requirements. The analysis is documented in Jefferson Lab Tech Note 97-006 dated 24 Sep 97.

Work continued toward specifying the RF phases in the injector. Space-charge forces, because they are nonlinear and dynamic, complicate the task of determining the transfer matrices. Our approach is to determine the matrices for the RF elements numerically and do multiparticle statistical simulations to study the overall system sensitivity to RF phase. Using PARMELA is the most likely avenue.

The impact of off-normal performance of the injector and full linac is under further consideration because the respective electron-beam energies affect procedures for RF phasing and for setting up the electron-beam transport system. In particular, performance of the injection/extraction (DV) dipole magnets is sensitive to the cryounit performance. We are pondering how to maximize the variability of the beam-transport system for "5 mA, 42 MeV" performance in view of uncertainties in the ultimate linac performance. There is less, but not negligible, concern with "1.1 mA, 38 MeV" first-light beam.

We also continued working toward a simulation code that includes noninertial forces in bends due to coherent synchrotron radiation. The latest technical detail to be resolved was the adaptation of leap-frog integration to transitions between straight trajectories and curved trajectories, where without care it is possible to "hop" a particle onto a "wrong" trajectory and thereby introduce numerical errors. We continue to make systematic progress.

WBS 4 -- IRFEL COMMISSIONING/OPERATION

The detailed injector setup procedure and test plan is now written. The procedure covers start-up of the photocathode gun, rough setup of the injector, and setup of the 10 MeV injector dump. It parallels that of the nuclear physics injector setup, involving a threading procedure and use of transient phasing and dispersed viewers to crest cavities and set gradients. The FEL injector however, is more complicated in that it runs the second cryounit cavity 27.5 degrees off crest and uses a lower injection energy into the cryounit. Another difficulty is that the cavity gradients and phase loops will not be characterized initially. Consequently a fine setup procedure must make use of the existing diagnostics to set the buncher and two cryounit cavities' phase and gradients to the required precision. PARMELA simulations of the injector were run to determine an expedient procedure for setting the injector parameters.

In the FEL Facility, the high-voltage system was completed and tested, including installation of the elbow leading from the stack to the gun. On 25 Sep 97 the gun reached 420 kV in just 3 hours of processing. Subsequently, on 29 Sep 97, we generated "first electron beam" in the FEL Facility, i.e., 350 kV photoelectrons.

Upcoming Meetings and Reviews

Scientific Opportunities for Fourth Generation Light Sources, October 27-29, 1997 (Argonne National Lab)