Experimental Results of Low-Z Materials as a High Voltage Septum Anode

In the framework of the Physics Beyond Colliders study (PBC) at CERN, considerable efforts are being made to reduce the beam loss and remnant activation of the slow extraction equipment in the SPS LSS2 region. Simulations have demonstrated that changing the material of the septum anode, presently consisting of an array of WRe wires, for a low-Z alternative could reduce the overall activation of the extraction region in the order of 30%. A laboratory test set-up was built, allowing the high voltage (HV) testing of anodes using wires made of different materials. This paper outlines the operational requirements for the anode materials and presents the experimental results of HV tests with low-Z alternatives, such as carbon nanotube (CNT) wires and Titanium alloy wires.