Detector characterization during secondment at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena
AVA Fellow David Haider (GSI) tested new prototype of the Cryogenic Current Monitor during his secondment in the cryogenic laboratory of the Friedrich-Schiller University. The university offers an excellent environment to determine the performance of the new upgrade of the beam current monitor. Inside a magnetically shielded room where most magnetic perturbations are negated, the precision of the detector can be probed down to a few nano-amperes of simulated beam current. Moreover, selected noise sources can be imposed to determine the resilience of the system. At the laboratories at GSI there is no comparable shielded area available and thus it is very difficult to compare the performance of different detector models due to the changing magnetic background. With the support of the Friedrich-Schiller University and the experts at the Institute of Solid State Physics a reliable diagnostics of all detector upgrades can be realized.
The latest iteration of the Cryogenic Current Comparator was equipped with a modified superconducting shielding structure to increase the magnetic pick-up sensitivity and to minimize the effect of mechanical vibrations on the signal. “The goal is to converge on a detector design with the superb current resolution of existing models, but with a much more robust signal and with an easier time to manufacture,” says David. Further tests are scheduled in spring to explore the full potential of this new model.