ATLAS Operations

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ATLAS Operations

ATLAS Users Meeting August 14, 2009
Richard Pardo Argonne National Laboratory
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Outline

• ATLAS Operations
• Facility Current Status and Performance
• Operating statistics
• Beams available and properties
• Operations schedule and staff
• Recent and In-Progress Improvements
• In-flight RF Sweeper
• Energy Upgrade Project
• CARIBU will be discussed in separate presentation
• Future Accelerator Facility Improvements
• ARRA AIP-funded projects
• Proposed ATLAS Efficiency and Intensity Upgrade
  (separate presentations)

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ATLAS A National User Facility for Low-Energy
Heavy-Ion Research
Worlds First Superconducting Accelerator for Ions
HELIOS
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ATLAS Delivered Beams for FY2008
34 Different Isotopes 11.6(650 hours) of beam
time for Exotic Beams
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ATLAS Standard Stable Beams
The list of standard beams has been recently
updated on the ATLAS website. The data now
listed reflects

• 1. New Energy Upgrade Cryostat
• Continued improvements in source performance and
  transmission.
• If your experiment needs a different beam or
  better performance, contact me.

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Rare Isotope Beams at ATLAS

• IN FY2008
• In-Flight Radioactive Beams 11.6 of beam time
  (650 hours)

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ATLAS Radioactive Beams Provided
The list of radioactive beams developed so far
by the in-flight or batch method is also
listed on the ATLAS website.
These beams have been developed for the
spectrograph beamline so far. Development of
beams to HELIOS is now possible. 12B has been
provided to HELIOS for research so far. No RF
sweeper is available for HELIOS at this time to
improve beam purity.
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Statistics of ATLAS Performance

• 6-day operation resumed in February, 2008.
• 7-day operation started in the week of July 6.
• For FY09, we now project 5100 Joule hours.
• CARIBU and Energy Upgrade commissioning reduce
  research time.
• CARIBU operation will allow two parallel
  experiments for first time
• A new measure of performance provided by users
  indicate 91 availability compared to schedule
  research hours.
• Joule operating hours Research Accel.
  Devel. Tuning

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Measures of ATLAS Performance

• Facility Time Distribution
• In FY2008
• 56 of calendar time for research/beam studies
• 77 of staffed hours for research
• 5 of available time is Research Downtime

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ATLAS System Reliability

• Maintenance is vital to successful operation
• High reliability ? maximum research hours
• 329 hours of lost research time in FY2008
• Tracking failures focuses our maintenance and
  development efforts
• Replacement/upgrade of aging systems maintains
  operating reliability.

• Specific Maintenance Improvement Programs
• Replaced all RF Amplifiers (3 years)
• Replaced Shift Log software with new system
• Installed new electronic bulletin board
• Start replacement of bipolar steering magnet
  power supplies

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ATLAS Staff Levels

• ATLAS now has 6 trained operator and
• Lead Operator
• Operations Supervisor
• The ATLAS Operations staff now totals 23 persons
• Plus support from the Accelerator Development
  group (6)
• In addition there are 9.5 FTEs spread over 12
  people providing support to the ATLAS research
  program.
• For most of 2008, ATLAS operated on a 6-day
  schedule (with occasional seven-day operation as
  required by experiment needs).
• The FY09 final budget allowed ATLAS to return to
  7-day operation.
• Seven day operation began in July 2009.
• Two new CARIBU positions added for beam
  development/operation
• Dedicated technician (not yet filled)
• Post-doc

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Priorities for Upgrades Developments

• Our overarching goal is to maintain ATLAS as the
  nations premier low-energy heavy-ion research
  facility.
• CARIBU will greatly expand our RIB capabilities.
• Emphasizes need for improved total efficiency
  (ATLAS Intensity Upgrade)
• Increased beam energy for inverse reaction
  studies (Energy Upgrade)
• Better diagnostics (AIP LEBT improvements this
  year)
• In-flight radioactive beams with properties not
  readily available at other facilities (energy,
  yield, beam quality) (RF Chopper)
• Stable beams will continue to play an important
  role
• Increased beam intensity often with expensive,
  low-abundance isotopes.
• 50Ti _at_ gt300 pnA on target
• Reduce source contamination with solids for AMS
  studies
• (Laser ablation of solid materials into ECR
  other source improvements)
• Developments at ATLAS seek to improve performance
  in these areas, enhancing the features most in
  demand.

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ATLAS In-flight Radioactive Beam Production
RF Chopper to remove primary beam tails
10C In-flight Production from 10B Primary Beam
_at_120MeV
10B5
B/C Discrimination factor 200
10B4
10C6
9Be4
E-residual Chopper Off
E-residual Chopper On

• First operation in February 2008.
• Now available for routine operation.
• Second unit for HELIOS under consideration.

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ATLAS Energy Upgrade Project is Online
109 MHz QWR Cavity ßs 0.144 Length 25cm
ATLAS Energy Upgrade replaces

the last ATLAS cryostat with

New cryostat containing
New classes of resonators



7 ß0.14
quarter
-
wave resonators

New ATLAS Cryostat
Off-line Test
 
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ATLAS Energy Upgrade Project Installation

• ATLAS high energy beamline reconfigured in March
  2009.
• First offline resonator tests May 2009.
• Fields as high as 15 MV/m
• Cryostat installed in beamline, Week of May 25,
  2009. Photo Album
• First beam acceleration at low fields July 2,
  2009.
• Full operation July 21-24, 2009.
• 12C beam to 241.5 (20.1MeV/u)
• Average accelerating field 8.3 MV/m
• Need split-ring resonator repair
• 5 Split-ring resonators not operating limit
  total energy. Repairs for some in January 2010.

 
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New projects to enhance ATLAS capabilities

• Accelerator Improvement Projects (AIP)
• PII CARIBU LEBT Improvements - 200k (FY2009)
• Additional beam diagnostics emittance.
• Additional weak beam diagnostics tape station.
• CARIBU beamlines to the CPT and laser atom trap
  facility
• Later Electrostatic Optics (mass independent)
  design.
• ECR Laser Ablation for AMS and Solids - 970k
  (FY2010-12)
• Funding New 3-year ARRA Actinide AMS proposal
• Improved efficiency and intensity of ECRIS with
  solids.
• Important for rare stable isotopic materials
• Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy reduce sample
  cross-talk
• Builds on past experience with lower power NdYAG
  laser.
• ARRA AIPs First Phase of Energy Intensity
  Upgrade
• 9800k for FY2009-12 in two projects
• a) New RFQ Linac replaces the first PII
  cryostat
• b) New ?/4 resonators and new cryostat to
  upgrade booster linac and improved helium
  plumbing for cryostat

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ARRA AIP projects to enhance ATLAS capabilities

• FY2010/2011/2012 AIP Improvements
• New PII RFQ Replaces First(a) PII Cryostat
• First three resonators in PII have poor capture
  of beam
• Approximately 1/3 of beam lost at this stage
• By far, largest single loss point in facility
• Important CARIBU beam improvement
• Also better for high intensity stable beams
• Funding
• ARRA AIP 4550k
• An important first step in the overall ATLAS
  Energy Intensity Upgrade

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Other AIP projects to enhance ATLAS capabilities

• FY2010/2011/2012 AIP Improvements
• Replace First Booster Cryostat Helium
  Plumbing
• Replace at leastoneexisting low-beta split-ring
  resonator cryostat with new, top-loading box
  cryostat design
• Improved resonator cooling ? Improved field
  performance
• Cleaner resonator surfaces ? Improved field
  performance
• New ß0.07 resonator required
• Improved cryo insulation
• New helium distribution system for new cryostat
• Funding
• ARRA AIP funds of 5320k
• A second step in the overall ATLAS Energy
  Intensity Upgrade

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Equipment Schedule Funding
ARRA Funding
AIP Funding

• 2006
• 2007
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010
• 2011
• 2012
• 2013

CARIBU
PII CARIBU LEBT/ Diag.
EBIS Charge Breeder (funding not certain)
SRF Test Facility
Laser Ablation (AMS-funded)
Booster Cryostat Replacement
PII RFQ
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Summary

• ATLAS continues to perform at a high level of
  productivity
• Some loss in research time this year and next
  required for installation and commissioning of
  Energy Upgrade Cryostat and CARIBU
• Current budget has allowed
• ATLAS to return to seven-day operation in July
• Add staff to focus on CARIBU and electronics
  development activities
• Energy Upgrade Project Cryostat is now fully
  operational
• CARIBU commissioning will take place near the
  end of summer
• ARRA Funds allow the start of a major efficiency
  and intensity upgrade.