IJCLab receives the first prototype cavity for the PIP-II project

On May 5, 2022, IJCLab received the first superconducting accelerating cavity prototype for the PIP-II project. The cavity, manufactured by the Italian company Zanon Research & Innovation, is the result of a joint design between Fermilab (United States) and IJCLab (Accelerator and Engineering Divisions). Six prototype cavities will be received and tested in the test cryostat of the Supratech platform in 2022 and 2023. The "Spoke" type cavities in massive Niobium will have to reach an accelerating field of 11.5 MV/m with a quality factor of approximately 1E10, requiring rigorous controls.

The PIP-II project is part of an ambitious neutrino research program. Its objective is to upgrade the Fermilab accelerator complex in the United States in order to provide a neutrino beam of unprecedented intensity for the DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment) project, whose detectors will be installed at a distance of 1,300 km to LBNF in South Dakota. The heart of the project is the construction of a new superconducting linear proton accelerator allowing to reach a beam power of 1.2 MW on target at the exit of the existing rings at Fermilab. IN2P3 will make a major contribution to the project by also supplying prototype components (cavity frequency tuning system and power couplers) as well as to the series phase by validating the performance of thirty-three cavities between 2024 and 2026.

2022-06-01 17:40