First prototypes of the new design of the CERN's antiproton production target

For antiproton production at CERN, high‐energy (26 GeV/c), intense, and short proton beams are impacted into a small rod-target core-made of a dense metal. Temperature rises in the order of 2000°C, and subsequent dynamic stresses of several gigapascals are induced in this rod every time it is impacted by the primary proton beam. Several R&D; activities have been launched with the goal of proposing and manufacturing a new design of such device (named AD‐Target). A summary of these activities is presented, including the last design stage, which involves the manufacturing and testing of six real‐scale prototypes of the new target design. These prototypes (named PROTAD) consist of air‐cooled Ti‐6Al‐4V assemblies filled by matrices made of isostatic graphite or expanded graphite (EG), containing target cores made of small rods with different diameters (from 2 to 10 mm) of multiple grades of Ta, Ta2.5W, and Ir.