First Prototype Inductive Adder for the FCC Injection

A highly reliable kicker system is required as part of the injection for the FCC. A significant weak point of conventional kicker systems is often the pulse generator, where a Pulse Forming Network/Line (PFN/PFL) is discharged through a thyratron switch to generate the current pulse for the kicker magnet. This design has several disadvantages: in particular the occasional erratic turn-on of the switch which cannot be accepted for the FCC. A potential replacement is the inductive adder (IA) that uses semiconductor switches and distributed capacitors as energy storage. The modular design, low maintenance and high flexibility make the IA a very interesting alternative. In addition, the ability to both turn-on and off the current also permits the replacement of PFN/PFL by the capacitors. A first FCC prototype IA, capable of generating 9 kV and 2.4 kA pulses, has been designed and built at CERN. It will be upgrade to a full-scale prototype (15 kV, 2.4 kA) in 2018. This paper presents measurement results from the 9 kV prototype and outlines the conceptual changes and expected performance of the 15 kV prototype.