Design of a High-Perveance Electron Gun for Electron Cooling in the Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR) at CERN and Non-Interceptive Proton Beam Profile Monitors using Ion or Atomic Probe Beams

For an efficient electron cooling of the low-energy Pb54+ ions in LEIR a high-perveance (at least 3.6microperv) electron gun had to be designed. The theoretical study of electron guns has shown that the required perveance can be achieved by using a convex cathode. The gun should be immersed in a strong magnetic field (B=2-6kG) in order to obtain a parallel beam with very low transverse energy (typically 0.1 eV). This idea was confirmed by experimental tests at Fermilab. An adiabatic magnetic expansion is foreseen after the gun in order to reduce the magnetic field to accpetable values (0.6-1 kG) in the cooling section. The internal geometry of a convex cathode gun for the LEIR electron cooler together with the parameters of the magnetic expansion are proposed. The scheme fulfils the requirements. In addition, the author has made an important contribution in the field of beam instrumentation for the LHC and other accelerators at CERN. A profile monitor has been developed that uses a Xe ion probe beam that interacts with the space-charge fields of the proton beam under study. Three different techniques are considered for an ion probe beam with a pencil, curtain or cylindrical shape. The principle and the experimental results obtained in the SPS and Linac accelerators at CERN are presented. The monitor has practically no effect on the proton beam nor on the vacuum. Another idea is to scan an atomic or molecular probe beam through the proton beam and measure the secondary particles, as in a conventional wire scanner. Analytical estimations concerning such a device have been made.