PSB LLRF renovation: Initial beam tests of the new digital beam control system

The beam control renovation project for CERN’s PS Booster (PSB) was started in autumn 2008. Its aim is to equip all four PSB rings with modern digital beam control systems, characterised by fully-PPM parameters and complete remote control. Additionally, all intermediate and input/output signals are to be remotely acquired in a digital way and in full PPM fashion, and displayed via the Oasis application program. The same digital technology concepts have already been successfully applied to the LEIR beam control system, which has acted as a pilot project for the whole PS Complex renovation project. This new technology allows a very flexible performance and can improve the system maintainability by becoming the standard for the PS Complex beam controls. This note details the first step in the PSB consolidation project, namely the beam control prototype tests carried out on PSB ring 4 in October and November 2008. Both C02 and C04 RF system have been successfully controlled; bunch splitting and extraction synchronisation at harmonics h = 1 and h = 2 have also been carried out. This note gives an overview of the system hardware and software capabilities and of the beam results obtained. Finally, some hints on the future work planned for the PSB consolidation project are provided.