Injection quality measurements with diamond based particle detectors

During the re-commissioning phase of the LHC after the long shutdown 1 very high beam losses were observed at the TDI during beam injection. The losses reached up to 90% of the dump threshold. To decrease the through beam losses induced stress on the accelerator components these loss levels need to be reduced. Measurements with diamond based particle detectors (dBLMs), which have nano-second time resolution, revealed that the majority of these losses come from recaptured SPS beam surrounding the nominal bunch train. In this MD the injection loss patterns and loss intensities were investigated in greater detail. Performed calibration shots on the TDI (internal beam absorber for injection) gave a conversion factor from impacting particles intensities to signal in the dBLMs (0.1Vs/109 protons). Using the SPS tune kicker for cleaning the recaptured beam in the SPS and changing the LHC injection kicker settings resulted in a reduction of the injection losses. For 144 bunch injections the loss levels were decreased by 60%.