The AFP detector control system

The ATLAS Forward Proton (AFP) detector is one of the forward detectors of the ATLAS experiment at CERN aiming at measuring momenta and angles of diffractively scattered protons. Silicon Tracking and Time-of-Flight detectors are located inside Roman Pot stations inserted into beam pipe aperture. The AFP detector is composed of two stations on each side of the ATLAS interaction point and is under commissioning. The detector is provided with high and low voltage distribution systems. Each station has vacuum and cooling systems, movement control and all the required electronics for signal processing. Monitoring of environmental parameters, like temperature and radiation, is also available. The Detector Control System (DCS) provides control and monitoring of the detector hardware and ensures the safe and reliable operation of the detector, assuring good data quality. Comparing with DCS systems of other detectors, the AFP DCS main challenge is to cope with the large variety of AFP equipment. This paper describes the AFP DCS system: a detector overview, the operational aspects, the hardware control of the AFP detectors, the high precision movement, cooling, and safety vacuum systems.