Summer Student Report CHARM - Eino Juhani Oltedal

CHARM (CERN High energy AcceleRator Mixed field facility) is a completely new facility being built now in the east area building 157, and is currently under the commissioning phase. It is to be used as a facility for radiation testing electronics. CHARM uses a 24 GeV beam to hit a target creating a mixed field of radiation. The target is a rotating revolver with four different targets to choose from, two copper, one solid aluminum and one aluminum with holes in it. Four movable shields allows the user to change the field to simulate the radiation that would be received in LHC tunnel, adjacent areas, in space etc. A years worth of radiation exposure in the LHC could be simulated in only a few days in CHARM. There will be two conveyor systems for bringing electronics into the test position. One for small electronic boards mounted in a 300 × 300 × 200 mm box, and can have a maximum weight of 10 kg. This system is Called MONTRAC, and will automatically bring the test box on a shuttle from behind concrete shielding, into the test area, and then bring the electronics out again, with out personnel ever having to enter the activated test area. The shuttle also pushes a trolley with cable mounts, and pulls a trolley with mounted cameras. The other conveyor system will be for larger electronics or racks, with dimensions up to 1000 × 1000 mm, 2 m height and maximum weight of 1000 kg. CHARM is the worlds only facility where such a high energy mixed field is produced for radiation testing of electronics.