Ausführende Stelle:
Universität Hamburg
Fakultät für Mathematik, Informatik und Naturwissenschaften - Department Physik - Institut für Experimentalphysik

Projektleiter:
Humboldtprofessor Dr. Brian Foster

The project ended on 30.6.2015.

Abstract of Results:

The ILC is planned to be the next major project of particle physics. The ILC is based on superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) accelerating cavities and the aim of this project was to understand and characterise their properties by exploiting the large sample of such cavities manufactured for the European X-ray Free Electron Laser facility (EXFEL) at DESY and to investigate alternative and possibly cheaper and more efficient methods of cavity surface treatment. Achievement of higher accelerating gradients of the cavities would allow an increase of the energy and thus the discovery potential of the ILC, or alternatively a reduction in the cost of attaining a fixed energy.


This project was focused on the identification and understanding of the limiting factors of the cavities applying several surface inspection and SRF measurement techniques such as optical inspection using a specilaised optical microscope, the production of “replicas” of the inner surface using a plastic mould, cold RF tests, 2nd sound quench detection, etc. Several causes of failure during the cavity fabrication have been identified and corresponding prevention and repair actions have been worked-out and successfully applied in cooperation with colleagues responsible for XFEL production cavitites at DESY.