The Kicker Systems for the PS Multi-turn Extraction

A five-turn continuous extraction has up to now been used to transfer the proton beam from the CERN PS to the SPS. This extraction uses an electrostatic septum to cut the filament beam into five slices, causing losses of about 15 %. These losses would be an even greater drawback when the beam intensity is increased for the CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso (CNGS) facility. To overcome this Multi-Turn Extraction (MTE) has been implemented, in which the beam is separated, prior to extraction, into a central beam core and four islands. Each beamlet is extracted using a set of kickers and a magnetic septum. For the kickers two new pulse generators have been built, each containing a lumped element Pulse Forming Network (PFN) of 12.5 W, 80 kV and 10.5 ms. For cost reasons existing 15 W transmission line kicker magnets are reused. The PFN characteristic impedance deliberately mismatches that of the magnets to allow a higher maximum kick. The PFN design has been optimised such that undesirable side-effects of the impedance mismatch on kick rise-time and flat-top remain within acceptable limits. The kicker systems put in place for the current first phase of MTE are presented.