RF Tuning of the LINAC4 RFQ

The construction of Linac4, the new 160 MeV CERN H^{−} injector, has started with the goal of improving the LHC injection chain with a new higher energy linac. The low energy front end of Linac4 is based on a 352 MHz, 3-m long Radiofrequency Quadrupole (RFQ) which accelerates the 70 mA, 45 keV H^{−} beam from the ion source to the energy of 3 MeV. The RFQ, made of three modules, one meter each, is of the four-vane type and it has been designed in collaboration between CERN and CEA. Construction has started in 2009 and all the steps of machining and assembly have been done at CERN. The RFQ is equipped with 35 fixed tuners and one waveguide RF port located in the second module. This paper describes the procedure used to tune the accelerating field and the power coupler of the LINAC4 RFQ in order to achieve the nominal voltage profile within ±1% accuracy.