High Resolution Beam Orbit Measurement Electronics based on Compensated Diode Detectors

A high resolution beam position monitor (BPM) electronics based on diode peak detectors has been developed at CERN. The circuit processes the BPM electrode signals independently, converting the short beam pulses into slowly varying signals which can be digitized with high resolution ADCs operating in the kHz range or even measured with a DC voltmeter. For signals with peak amplitudes larger than some hundred mV the non-linear forward voltage of the diodes is compensated by a simple network using signals from two peak detectors, one with a single and the second with two diodes in series. This contribution presents results obtained with the first prototype in the laboratory and with the CERN-SPS beam. Ongoing development and possible future applications of the technique are also discussed.