Image credit: ALBA.
The first operational tests of the booster accelerator for the ALBA synchrotron light source in Barcelona took place in January. The results show that all of the components, subsystems and equipment perform according to specification. This was the main objective of the tests, which were performed over a short period so as not to interfere excessively with the installation of the storage ring and the beamlines.
ALBA is a third-generation synchrotron light-source facility co-financed by the Catalan and Spanish governments, which is now in its last phase of construction at Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona. The facility, which is being constructed and operated by the CELLS consortium, will provide synchrotron light of world-class quality (brilliance) for research in a range of scientific disciplines.
The facility consists of three accelerators – the linac, booster and storage ring – and seven beamlines (in the initial phase). The linac creates the electron beam and accelerates it up to 100 MeV. The beam is then injected into the second accelerator, the booster, where the energy increases to 3 GeV. This is the critical part of the accelerator chain. Ultimately, the beam will be injected into the storage ring and stored to produce synchrotron light.
The operational test of the booster began on 21 December 2009, when beam was transported from the linac to the booster for the first time. After a Christmas shut-down, tests recommenced on 11 January and on the following day, beam made the first turns round the machine – and produced the first synchrotron light seen in Spain. On 19 January the ALBA team was able to accelerate the beam to 600 MeV and two days later they achieved 2.7 GeV with a circulating beam of 0.7 mA. The two-week test finished on 24 January to allow for further installation work.
ALBA’s booster was completely designed, assembled and tested by the ALBA team, making it the first high-energy accelerator built in Spain. With its design, it also has the smallest emittance (beam size) in the world for an accelerator of its kind. The next milestones will be the operation of the storage ring, in the autumn, followed by the operation of the complete facility, expected for the beginning of 2011.
