What is the
Superconducting Radio Frequency (SCRF) Accelerator Technology
The next generation of particle accelerators
throughout the world are incorporating superconducting radio frequency
(SCRF) technology into their design and fabrication. This technology
greatly increases the energy per unit of length of the accelerating
components of accelerators resulting in more powerful and smaller
machines. The scientific community had taken the lead and adopted SCRF
into R&D programs in Europe, Asia and the
INTERNATIONAL LINEAR COLLIDER (ILC): Incorporates SCRF technology into the damping rings and two 11 kilometer main linear accelerators.
CEBAF UPGRADE: Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) upgrade at the Thomas Jefferson Laboratory in Newport News, VA
ISAC-II UPGRADE: A major upgrade to the Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) project at TRIUMF, Vancouver, Canada.
SNS UPGRADE: Upgrade of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
US NAVY FEL: The Navy is developing a superconducting free electron laser (FEL) for defense applications.
CORNELL ERL: Cornell’s Energy recovery Linac (ERL) will be located at the Laboratory of Elementary Particle Physics (LEPP).
PROJECT X: Fermilab’s planned Project X is an intense proton source that provides beam for various physics programs.
FRIB: The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) was recently awarded to Michigan State by DOE.
APS UPGRADE: Improvements to the Advanced Photon Source (APS) facility at Argonne National Lab
ALS UPGRADE: Improvements to the Advanced Light Source (ALS), a third-generation synchrotron facility optimized for ultraviolet and soft X-rays at Lawrence Berkeley Lab
e-RHIC: A proposed high luminosity, polarized electron-ion collider at Brookhaven National Lab.
CEBAF UPGRADE: Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) upgrade at the Thomas Jefferson Laboratory in Newport News, VA
ISAC-II UPGRADE: A major upgrade to the Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) project at TRIUMF, Vancouver, Canada.
SNS UPGRADE: Upgrade of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
US NAVY FEL: The Navy is developing a superconducting free electron laser (FEL) for defense applications.
CORNELL ERL: Cornell’s Energy recovery Linac (ERL) will be located at the Laboratory of Elementary Particle Physics (LEPP).
PROJECT X: Fermilab’s planned Project X is an intense proton source that provides beam for various physics programs.
FRIB: The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) was recently awarded to Michigan State by DOE.
APS UPGRADE: Improvements to the Advanced Photon Source (APS) facility at Argonne National Lab
ALS UPGRADE: Improvements to the Advanced Light Source (ALS), a third-generation synchrotron facility optimized for ultraviolet and soft X-rays at Lawrence Berkeley Lab
e-RHIC: A proposed high luminosity, polarized electron-ion collider at Brookhaven National Lab.
| How do superconducting cavities work? A voltage generator fills each hollow structure with an electric field. The voltage of the field changes from plus to minus with a certain frequency: a radio frequency, or RF. Charged particles feel the force of the electric field, and if the cavity is arranged correctly, accelerate them. Build the cavity out of superconductor, such as niobium, and chill it to near absolute zero and you have a “superconducting RF cavity.” SCRF cavities conduct electric current with extremely small loss of energy, which means that almost all the electrical energy goes into accelerating the beam, rather than into heating up the accelerating structures themselves. The Quality factor (or Q) of a cavity is a measure of how much energy the cavity stores divided by how much it loses on each oscillation of the RF electric field. |
 Fermilab tests a cavity ILC R&B |