Spectrometers for RF breakdown studies for CLIC

An e + e − collider of several TeV energy will be needed for the precision studies of any new physics discovered at the LHC collider at CERN. One promising candidate is CLIC, a linear collider which is based on a two-beam acceleration scheme that efficiently solves the problem of power distribution to the acceleration structures. The phenomenon that currently prevents achieving high accelerating gradients in high energy accelerators such as the CLIC is the electrical breakdown at very high electrical field. The ongoing experimental work within the CLIC collaboration is trying to benchmark the theoretical models focusing on the physics of vacuum breakdown which is responsible for the discharges. In order to validate the feasibility of accelerating structures and observe the characteristics of the vacuum discharges and their eroding effects on the structure two dedicated spectrometers are now commissioned at the high-power test-stands at CERN.