Linac4 45 keV Proton Beam Measurements

Linac4 is a 160 MeV normal-conducting H- linear accelerator, which will replace the 50 MeV proton Linac2 as injector for the CERN proton complex. Commissioning of the low energy part - comprising the H - source, a 45 keV Low Energy Beam Transport line (LEBT), a 3 MeV Radiofrequency Quadrupole (RFQ) and a Medium Energy Beam Transport (MEBT) - will start in fall 2012 on a dedicated test stand installation. In preparation to this, preliminary measurements were taken using a 45 keV proton source and a temporary LEBT setup, with the aim of characterising the output beam by comparison with the predictions of simulations. At the same time this allowed a first verification of the functionalities of diagnostics instrumentation and acquisition software tools. Measurements of beam profile, emittance and intensity were taken in three different setups: right after the source, after the first and after the second LEBT solenoids respectively. Particle distributions were reconstructed from emittance scans and used as input to simulation studies of the beam transport through the line (forward and backward tracking). Comparison of the results with the measurements at different locations allowed an experimental validation of the LEBT (in terms of misalignments and calibration points) and qualification of the beam at the source output.