Status of the PACMAN Project

PACMAN, a study on Particle Accelerator Components' Metrology and Alignment to the Nanometre scale, is an Innovative Doctoral Program, funded by the European Commission, hosted by CERN. The objective is to propose new methods allowing the determination of the reference axis of accelerator components with respect to external alignment targets. A test bench, using real components of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) study, will demonstrate the feasibility of the solutions developed with micrometric accuracy. The study concerns the methods developed using a stretched wire to determine the magnetic axis of small aperture magnets, the electrical centre of a 15 GHz RF-BPM or the electro-magnetic axis of an accelerating cavity. Solutions are also carried out to measure the position of the wire with respect to the external alignment targets, using a 3D Coordinate Measuring Machine or portable alternatives based on Frequency Scanning Interferometry or micro-triangulation. Other systems developed are also taken into account: a nano-positioning system to validate the nanometric resolution of the BPM and a dedicated seismic sensor to characterize the environment during the measurements.