Bench measurements of the Low Frequency Transverse Impedance of the CERN LHC Beam Vacuum Interconnects with RF Contacts

The low frequency longitudinal and transverse impedances of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have to be specifically minimized to prevent the onset of coherent instabilities. The LHC beam vacuum interconnects were designed as Plug In Modules (PIMs) with RF contacts to reduce their coupling impedances, but the resulting contact resistance is a concern, as this effect is difficult to estimate. High sensitivity measurements of the transverse impedance of a PIM at low frequency using a coil probe are presented. In particular, the increase of the transverse impedance of the PIM when it is elongated to its operating position is discussed in detail. Finally, the issue of non-conforming contact resistance is also addressed.