Commissioning and First Performance of the LHC Beam Current Measurement Systems

CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is equipped with three distinct types of intensity measurement systems: total intensity measurement using DC transformers (DCCTs) with a bandwidth up to a few kHz; total intensity measurements on a turn-by-turn basis for lifetime measurements using AC-coupled fast transformers (fast BCTs); bunch-by-bunch intensity measurements with a bandwidth up to a few hundred MHz also using the fast BCTs. In addition to providing intensity information these devices are part of the machine protection system, indicating whether or not there is beam circulating, transmitting intensity for evaluation of safe beam conditions and capable of triggering a beam dump if fast losses are detected. This paper reports on the commissioning of all these systems and their initial performance.