Mauro Giacchini - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mauro Giacchini

The SPES* Tape Station (STS) for Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs) characterization is under construct... more The SPES* Tape Station (STS) for Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs) characterization is under construction at LNL. This tool will be used to measure the actual composition of the radioactive ion beams extracted from the SPES-β ion source and to optimize the source's parameters. STS will provide beam diagnostic information by determining the beam composition and intensity. At the same time, it will be able to measure the target release curves needed for the source's characterization and development. The core part of the system, the related motor and controls are being designed and constructed in synergy with IPN Orsay (France), iThemba Laboratories (South Africa) and the Gamma collaboration (INFN-CSN3). In particular, the mechanical part is based on the existing BEDO** tape system operated in ALTO while the control system for motion is an EPICS*** base application under implementation by iThemba and INFN, result of a upgrade operation required to substitute obsoleted hardware and u...

A partial test at full power and CW duty cycle was performed at INFN-LNL on the last elements of ... more A partial test at full power and CW duty cycle was performed at INFN-LNL on the last elements of the IFMIF RFQ, approximately two meters of structure, using a specific electromagnetic boundary element on the low energy end. The aim is to reach, in the RFQ coupled with its power coupler system, after an adequate period of conditioning, CW operation at nominal field level (132 kV between electrodes) for at least two hours without breakdown. The description of the experimental setup and procedure, as well as the main results of the conditioning procedure are reported in this paper.

The Drift Tube Linac (DTL) of the European Spallation Source (ESS)* is designed to operate at 352... more The Drift Tube Linac (DTL) of the European Spallation Source (ESS)* is designed to operate at 352.2 MHz with a duty cycle of 4% (3 ms pulse length, 14 Hz repetition period) and will accelerate a proton beam of 62.5 mA pulse peak current from 3.62 to 90 MeV. According to the Project standards, the entire control system is based on the EPICS framework**. This paper presents the control system architecture designed for the DTL apparatus by INFN-LNL***, emphasizing in particular the technological solutions adopted and the high level control orchestration, used to standardize the software under logic design, implementation and maintenance points of view.

The major part of the GARFIELD apparatus electronics are monitored and set up through a slow cont... more The major part of the GARFIELD apparatus electronics are monitored and set up through a slow control system, which has been developed at LNL. A software package based on Lab View has been dedicated to the setting and control of 16 channels integrated Amplifiers and Constant Fraction Discriminators. GPIB controllers and GPIB-ENET interfaces have been used for the communication between the Personal Computer and the front-end of the electronics.

The 8πLP project at LNL

Il Nuovo Cimento A, 1998

Summary A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Lab... more Summary A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (LNL) for the study of the reaction mechanisms produced in heavy-ion collisions at energies up to 20A MeV. The 8πLP apparatus is a telescope assembly characterized by a large solid angle (90% of 4π) and high granularity (262 modules). Particle identification at

The 8πLP project at LNL. A detection system for light charged particles with deexcitation channel selection

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 1999

A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori N... more A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (LNL) for the study of the reaction mechanisms produced in heavy-ion collisions at energies up to 20AMeV. The 8πLP apparatus is a telescope assembly characterized by large solid angle (90% of 4π) and high granularity (262 modules). Particle identification at low energy

The 8/spl pi/LP project: a 4/spl pi/ light charged particle detection array at LNL

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 1997

A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori N... more A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (LNL) for the study of the reaction mechanisms produced in heavy ion collisions at energies up to 20 AMeV. The 8πLP apparatus is a telescope assembly characterized by large solid angle (90% of 4π) and high granularity (262 modules). Particle identification at

The Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc)* Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) will accelerate ... more The Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc)* Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) will accelerate a 130 mA deuteron beam up to 5 MeV in continuous wave. Proton beam commissioning of RFQ cavity, together with Medium Energy Beam Transport Line (MEBT) and Diagnostics Plate, is now ongoing to characterize the accelerator behavior**. The RFQ Local Control System (LCS) was designed following the project guideline. It was partially assembled and verified during the RFQ power test in Italy***. The final system configuration was pre-assembled and tested in Europe, after that it was transferred to Japan, where it was installed, commissioned and integrated into LIPAc Central Control System (CCS) between November 2016 and July 2017, when the RFQ Radio Frequency (RF) conditioning started****. Now the RFQ LCS has been running for 2 years. During this time, especially in the initial period, the system required several adjustments and modifications to its functionality and interface, together with a...

The IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ is composed of 18 modules for a total length of 9.8 m and is designed to acce... more The IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ is composed of 18 modules for a total length of 9.8 m and is designed to accelerate the 125 mA D⁺ beam up to 5 MeV at the frequency of 175 MHz. The RFQ is subdivided into three Super-Modules of six modules each. The Super-Modules were pre-assembled, aligned and vacuum tested at INFN-LNL and then shipped to Rokkasho (Japan). At Rokkasho site a series of test were performed in order to verify the effect of the shipment on the cavity. The assembly debug, shipment equipment and the sequence of operations are described in this paper.

IFMIF, the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility, is an accelerator-based neutron s... more IFMIF, the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility, is an accelerator-based neutron source that will use Li(d, xn) reactions to generate a flux of neutrons with a broad peak at 14 MeV equivalent to the conditions of the Deuterium-Tritium reactions in a fusion power plant. IFMIF is conceived for fusion materials testing. The IFMIF prototype linear accelerator (LIPAc) is jointly developed by Europe and Japan within the IFMIF EVEDA project: it is composed of an ion source, a LEBT, an RFQ, a MEBT and a SC linac, with a final energy of 9 MeV. The 4-vane Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ), developed by INFN in Italy, will accelerate a 130 mA deuteron beam from 0.1 to 5 MeV in continuous wave, for a beam power of 650 kW. The 9.8 m long 175 MHz cavity is composed of 18 x 0.54 m long modules flanged together and aligned within 0.3 mm tolerance. The RFQ was completed, delivered and assembled at the Rokkasho site and is presently under extended RF tests. The second phase of beam comm...

In the framework of IFMIF/EVEDA project the source and RFQ are ready to be tested with beam. In t... more In the framework of IFMIF/EVEDA project the source and RFQ are ready to be tested with beam. In this article the beam dynamics simulation and the measurement performed in preparation of the first beam injection are presented. The installed line is composed by the proton and deuteron Source with the LEBT composed of two solenoids that inject in the 10 meters long RFQ, the MEBT, diagnostic plate and the beam dump. The line is prepared to be tested with protons of 8 mA in pulsed mode (up to 0.1%).

The RFQ apparatus Local Control System built for IFMIF EVEDA Project* has been designed and reali... more The RFQ apparatus Local Control System built for IFMIF EVEDA Project* has been designed and realized for being both a standalone architecture and part of a more complex control system composed by different sub-systems. This approach let RFQ's engineers and scientists have a degree of freedom during power tests in Legnaro and during the RFQ integration in IFMIF EVEDA facility in Rokkasho. In this paper we will describe the different aspects observed when the LCS was converted from the standalone configuration to the final integrated one.

In the IFMIF EVEDA project [1], INFN-LNL Laboratory has been involved in the design and construct... more In the IFMIF EVEDA project [1], INFN-LNL Laboratory has been involved in the design and construction of a normal conducting Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) used to bunch and accelerate a 125 mA steady beam to 5 MeV. The EPICS based control system [2] has been entirely developed in house using different hardware solutions: PLC for tasks where security is the most critical feature, VME system where the acquisition speed rate is crucial, common hardware when only integration is required without any particular feature in terms of security. Integration of PLCs into EPICS environment was originally accomplished through OPC DA server [3, 4] hosted in a Windows embedded industrial PC. Due to the issues analyzed in injector LCS, LNL proposed to migrate to the usage of EPICS Direct Driver solution based on s7plc [5]. The driver itself is suitable for direct communication between EPICS and PLCs, but it doesn't take care of data update and synchronization in case of communication failure. As consequence LNL team designed a dedicated method based on state machine language to manage and verify data integrity between the two environments, also in case of connection lost or failure.

All IFMIF – EVEDA RFQ modules were completed in summer 2015. In the previous year the last three ... more All IFMIF – EVEDA RFQ modules were completed in summer 2015. In the previous year the last three modules were RF tested at LNL at nominal power up to cw operation. At the beginning of this year all the modules were assembled in three 3.3 m long super-modules structures that were shipped to Japan. RFQ was then installed and tuned with provisional aluminum tuners and end plates to nominal frequency and field distribution. Replacement of movable aluminum components with copper fixed ones increased cavity quality value not affecting field flatness and frequency.

In the IFMIF EVEDA project, normal conducting Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) is used to bunch a... more In the IFMIF EVEDA project, normal conducting Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) is used to bunch and accelerate a 130 mA steady beam to 5 MeV. RFQ cavity is divided into three structures, named super-modules. Each super-module is divided into 6 modules for a total of 18 modules for the overall structure. The final three modules have to be tested at high power to test and validate the most critical RF components of RFQ cavity and, on the other hand, to test performances of the main ancillaries that will be used for IFMIF EVEDA project (vacuum manifold system, tuning system and control system). The choice of the last three modules is due to the fact that they will operate in the most demanding conditions in terms of power density (100 kW/m) and surface electric field (1.8*Ekp). The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) environment [1] provides the framework for monitoring any equipment connected to it. This paper report the usage of this framework to the RFQ power ...

The IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ is composed of 18 modules for a total length of 9.8 m and is designed to acce... more The IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ is composed of 18 modules for a total length of 9.8 m and is designed to accelerate the 125 mA D+ beam up to 5 MeV at the frequency of 175 MHz. The RFQ is subdivided into three SuperModules of six modules each. The Super-Modules were shipped to Rokkasho (Japan) at the beginning of 2016, pre-assembled 3.3 m far from their final location and tuned to reach target field flatness requirements. After reaching an intermediate phase of injector commissioning (conclusion of phase A2), the tuned RFQ was disassembled, moved and reassembled in the final location. After confirmation that field flatness was not affected by this movement, high power couplers were installed and tuned and all the structure was baked. Assembling, tuning and coupling results will be presented.

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2019

The ALPI linac at INFN-LNL was substantially refurbished in 2018, especially in view of its use a... more The ALPI linac at INFN-LNL was substantially refurbished in 2018, especially in view of its use as secondary accelerator for exotic species in the framework of the SPES project. In particular: 10 magnetic triplets were replaced with higher gradient ones; two cryomodules with quarter wave resonator were moved from the PIAVE injector to ALPI, so as to make them available both for exotic and stable beams; the cryogenic plant was renovated; the whole linac, its injector and its beam lines were eventually realigned via LASER tracking (LT). The expected outcome of the refurbishment project is a larger beam transmission (crucial for the efficient transport of the unavoidably low current exotic beams) and improved overall reliability so as to further extend the lifetime of an already 25 years old machine. The hardware commissioning of this new configuration will be reported.

EPJ Web of Conferences, 2015

Nuclear Structure Studies with Stable and Radioactive Beams: The SPES radioactive ion beam project

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2015

A new Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility (SPES) is presently under construction at the Legnaro N... more A new Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility (SPES) is presently under construction at the Legnaro National Laboratories of INFN. The SPES facility is based on the ISOL method using an UCx Direct Target able to sustain a power of 10 kW. The primary proton beam is provided by a high current Cyclotron accelerator with energy of 35-70 MeV and a beam current of 0.2-0.5 mA. Neutron-rich radioactive ions are produced by proton induced fission on an Uranium target at an expected fission rate of the order of 1013 fissions per second. After ionization and selection the exotic isotopes are re-accelerated by the ALPI superconducting LINAC at energies of 10A MeV for masses in the region A=130 amu. The expected secondary beam rates are of the order of 107 – 109 pps. Aim of the SPES facility is to deliver high intensity radioactive ion beams of neutron rich nuclei for nuclear physics research as well as to be an interdisciplinary research centre for radio-isotopes production for medicine and for neutron beams.

The SPES off-line front-end apparatus involves a num-ber of subsystems and procedures that are po... more The SPES off-line front-end apparatus involves a num-ber of subsystems and procedures that are potentially dan-gerous both for human operators and for the equipments. The high voltage power supply, the ion source complex power supplies, the target chamber handling systems and the laser source are some example of these subsystems. For that reason, a safety control system has been devel-oped. It is based on Schneider Electrics Preventa fam-ily safety modules that control the power supply of crit-ical subsystems in combination with safety detectors that monitor critical variables. A Programmable Logic Con-troller (PLC), model BMXP342020 from the Schneider Electrics Modicon M340 family, is used for monitoring the status of the system as well as controlling the sequence of some operations in automatic way. A touch screen, model XBTGT5330 from the Schneider Electrics Magelis family, is used as Human Machine Interface (HMI) and commu-nicates with the PLC using MODBUS-TCP. Additionally, an ...

The SPES* Tape Station (STS) for Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs) characterization is under construct... more The SPES* Tape Station (STS) for Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs) characterization is under construction at LNL. This tool will be used to measure the actual composition of the radioactive ion beams extracted from the SPES-β ion source and to optimize the source's parameters. STS will provide beam diagnostic information by determining the beam composition and intensity. At the same time, it will be able to measure the target release curves needed for the source's characterization and development. The core part of the system, the related motor and controls are being designed and constructed in synergy with IPN Orsay (France), iThemba Laboratories (South Africa) and the Gamma collaboration (INFN-CSN3). In particular, the mechanical part is based on the existing BEDO** tape system operated in ALTO while the control system for motion is an EPICS*** base application under implementation by iThemba and INFN, result of a upgrade operation required to substitute obsoleted hardware and u...

A partial test at full power and CW duty cycle was performed at INFN-LNL on the last elements of ... more A partial test at full power and CW duty cycle was performed at INFN-LNL on the last elements of the IFMIF RFQ, approximately two meters of structure, using a specific electromagnetic boundary element on the low energy end. The aim is to reach, in the RFQ coupled with its power coupler system, after an adequate period of conditioning, CW operation at nominal field level (132 kV between electrodes) for at least two hours without breakdown. The description of the experimental setup and procedure, as well as the main results of the conditioning procedure are reported in this paper.

The Drift Tube Linac (DTL) of the European Spallation Source (ESS)* is designed to operate at 352... more The Drift Tube Linac (DTL) of the European Spallation Source (ESS)* is designed to operate at 352.2 MHz with a duty cycle of 4% (3 ms pulse length, 14 Hz repetition period) and will accelerate a proton beam of 62.5 mA pulse peak current from 3.62 to 90 MeV. According to the Project standards, the entire control system is based on the EPICS framework**. This paper presents the control system architecture designed for the DTL apparatus by INFN-LNL***, emphasizing in particular the technological solutions adopted and the high level control orchestration, used to standardize the software under logic design, implementation and maintenance points of view.

The major part of the GARFIELD apparatus electronics are monitored and set up through a slow cont... more The major part of the GARFIELD apparatus electronics are monitored and set up through a slow control system, which has been developed at LNL. A software package based on Lab View has been dedicated to the setting and control of 16 channels integrated Amplifiers and Constant Fraction Discriminators. GPIB controllers and GPIB-ENET interfaces have been used for the communication between the Personal Computer and the front-end of the electronics.

The 8πLP project at LNL

Il Nuovo Cimento A, 1998

Summary A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Lab... more Summary A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (LNL) for the study of the reaction mechanisms produced in heavy-ion collisions at energies up to 20A MeV. The 8πLP apparatus is a telescope assembly characterized by a large solid angle (90% of 4π) and high granularity (262 modules). Particle identification at

The 8πLP project at LNL. A detection system for light charged particles with deexcitation channel selection

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 1999

A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori N... more A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (LNL) for the study of the reaction mechanisms produced in heavy-ion collisions at energies up to 20AMeV. The 8πLP apparatus is a telescope assembly characterized by large solid angle (90% of 4π) and high granularity (262 modules). Particle identification at low energy

The 8/spl pi/LP project: a 4/spl pi/ light charged particle detection array at LNL

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 1997

A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori N... more A 4π detection system sensitive to light charged particles is being developed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (LNL) for the study of the reaction mechanisms produced in heavy ion collisions at energies up to 20 AMeV. The 8πLP apparatus is a telescope assembly characterized by large solid angle (90% of 4π) and high granularity (262 modules). Particle identification at

The Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc)* Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) will accelerate ... more The Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc)* Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) will accelerate a 130 mA deuteron beam up to 5 MeV in continuous wave. Proton beam commissioning of RFQ cavity, together with Medium Energy Beam Transport Line (MEBT) and Diagnostics Plate, is now ongoing to characterize the accelerator behavior**. The RFQ Local Control System (LCS) was designed following the project guideline. It was partially assembled and verified during the RFQ power test in Italy***. The final system configuration was pre-assembled and tested in Europe, after that it was transferred to Japan, where it was installed, commissioned and integrated into LIPAc Central Control System (CCS) between November 2016 and July 2017, when the RFQ Radio Frequency (RF) conditioning started****. Now the RFQ LCS has been running for 2 years. During this time, especially in the initial period, the system required several adjustments and modifications to its functionality and interface, together with a...

The IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ is composed of 18 modules for a total length of 9.8 m and is designed to acce... more The IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ is composed of 18 modules for a total length of 9.8 m and is designed to accelerate the 125 mA D⁺ beam up to 5 MeV at the frequency of 175 MHz. The RFQ is subdivided into three Super-Modules of six modules each. The Super-Modules were pre-assembled, aligned and vacuum tested at INFN-LNL and then shipped to Rokkasho (Japan). At Rokkasho site a series of test were performed in order to verify the effect of the shipment on the cavity. The assembly debug, shipment equipment and the sequence of operations are described in this paper.

IFMIF, the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility, is an accelerator-based neutron s... more IFMIF, the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility, is an accelerator-based neutron source that will use Li(d, xn) reactions to generate a flux of neutrons with a broad peak at 14 MeV equivalent to the conditions of the Deuterium-Tritium reactions in a fusion power plant. IFMIF is conceived for fusion materials testing. The IFMIF prototype linear accelerator (LIPAc) is jointly developed by Europe and Japan within the IFMIF EVEDA project: it is composed of an ion source, a LEBT, an RFQ, a MEBT and a SC linac, with a final energy of 9 MeV. The 4-vane Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ), developed by INFN in Italy, will accelerate a 130 mA deuteron beam from 0.1 to 5 MeV in continuous wave, for a beam power of 650 kW. The 9.8 m long 175 MHz cavity is composed of 18 x 0.54 m long modules flanged together and aligned within 0.3 mm tolerance. The RFQ was completed, delivered and assembled at the Rokkasho site and is presently under extended RF tests. The second phase of beam comm...

In the framework of IFMIF/EVEDA project the source and RFQ are ready to be tested with beam. In t... more In the framework of IFMIF/EVEDA project the source and RFQ are ready to be tested with beam. In this article the beam dynamics simulation and the measurement performed in preparation of the first beam injection are presented. The installed line is composed by the proton and deuteron Source with the LEBT composed of two solenoids that inject in the 10 meters long RFQ, the MEBT, diagnostic plate and the beam dump. The line is prepared to be tested with protons of 8 mA in pulsed mode (up to 0.1%).

The RFQ apparatus Local Control System built for IFMIF EVEDA Project* has been designed and reali... more The RFQ apparatus Local Control System built for IFMIF EVEDA Project* has been designed and realized for being both a standalone architecture and part of a more complex control system composed by different sub-systems. This approach let RFQ's engineers and scientists have a degree of freedom during power tests in Legnaro and during the RFQ integration in IFMIF EVEDA facility in Rokkasho. In this paper we will describe the different aspects observed when the LCS was converted from the standalone configuration to the final integrated one.

In the IFMIF EVEDA project [1], INFN-LNL Laboratory has been involved in the design and construct... more In the IFMIF EVEDA project [1], INFN-LNL Laboratory has been involved in the design and construction of a normal conducting Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) used to bunch and accelerate a 125 mA steady beam to 5 MeV. The EPICS based control system [2] has been entirely developed in house using different hardware solutions: PLC for tasks where security is the most critical feature, VME system where the acquisition speed rate is crucial, common hardware when only integration is required without any particular feature in terms of security. Integration of PLCs into EPICS environment was originally accomplished through OPC DA server [3, 4] hosted in a Windows embedded industrial PC. Due to the issues analyzed in injector LCS, LNL proposed to migrate to the usage of EPICS Direct Driver solution based on s7plc [5]. The driver itself is suitable for direct communication between EPICS and PLCs, but it doesn't take care of data update and synchronization in case of communication failure. As consequence LNL team designed a dedicated method based on state machine language to manage and verify data integrity between the two environments, also in case of connection lost or failure.

All IFMIF – EVEDA RFQ modules were completed in summer 2015. In the previous year the last three ... more All IFMIF – EVEDA RFQ modules were completed in summer 2015. In the previous year the last three modules were RF tested at LNL at nominal power up to cw operation. At the beginning of this year all the modules were assembled in three 3.3 m long super-modules structures that were shipped to Japan. RFQ was then installed and tuned with provisional aluminum tuners and end plates to nominal frequency and field distribution. Replacement of movable aluminum components with copper fixed ones increased cavity quality value not affecting field flatness and frequency.

In the IFMIF EVEDA project, normal conducting Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) is used to bunch a... more In the IFMIF EVEDA project, normal conducting Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) is used to bunch and accelerate a 130 mA steady beam to 5 MeV. RFQ cavity is divided into three structures, named super-modules. Each super-module is divided into 6 modules for a total of 18 modules for the overall structure. The final three modules have to be tested at high power to test and validate the most critical RF components of RFQ cavity and, on the other hand, to test performances of the main ancillaries that will be used for IFMIF EVEDA project (vacuum manifold system, tuning system and control system). The choice of the last three modules is due to the fact that they will operate in the most demanding conditions in terms of power density (100 kW/m) and surface electric field (1.8*Ekp). The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) environment [1] provides the framework for monitoring any equipment connected to it. This paper report the usage of this framework to the RFQ power ...

The IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ is composed of 18 modules for a total length of 9.8 m and is designed to acce... more The IFMIF-EVEDA RFQ is composed of 18 modules for a total length of 9.8 m and is designed to accelerate the 125 mA D+ beam up to 5 MeV at the frequency of 175 MHz. The RFQ is subdivided into three SuperModules of six modules each. The Super-Modules were shipped to Rokkasho (Japan) at the beginning of 2016, pre-assembled 3.3 m far from their final location and tuned to reach target field flatness requirements. After reaching an intermediate phase of injector commissioning (conclusion of phase A2), the tuned RFQ was disassembled, moved and reassembled in the final location. After confirmation that field flatness was not affected by this movement, high power couplers were installed and tuned and all the structure was baked. Assembling, tuning and coupling results will be presented.

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2019

The ALPI linac at INFN-LNL was substantially refurbished in 2018, especially in view of its use a... more The ALPI linac at INFN-LNL was substantially refurbished in 2018, especially in view of its use as secondary accelerator for exotic species in the framework of the SPES project. In particular: 10 magnetic triplets were replaced with higher gradient ones; two cryomodules with quarter wave resonator were moved from the PIAVE injector to ALPI, so as to make them available both for exotic and stable beams; the cryogenic plant was renovated; the whole linac, its injector and its beam lines were eventually realigned via LASER tracking (LT). The expected outcome of the refurbishment project is a larger beam transmission (crucial for the efficient transport of the unavoidably low current exotic beams) and improved overall reliability so as to further extend the lifetime of an already 25 years old machine. The hardware commissioning of this new configuration will be reported.

EPJ Web of Conferences, 2015

Nuclear Structure Studies with Stable and Radioactive Beams: The SPES radioactive ion beam project

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2015

A new Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility (SPES) is presently under construction at the Legnaro N... more A new Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility (SPES) is presently under construction at the Legnaro National Laboratories of INFN. The SPES facility is based on the ISOL method using an UCx Direct Target able to sustain a power of 10 kW. The primary proton beam is provided by a high current Cyclotron accelerator with energy of 35-70 MeV and a beam current of 0.2-0.5 mA. Neutron-rich radioactive ions are produced by proton induced fission on an Uranium target at an expected fission rate of the order of 1013 fissions per second. After ionization and selection the exotic isotopes are re-accelerated by the ALPI superconducting LINAC at energies of 10A MeV for masses in the region A=130 amu. The expected secondary beam rates are of the order of 107 – 109 pps. Aim of the SPES facility is to deliver high intensity radioactive ion beams of neutron rich nuclei for nuclear physics research as well as to be an interdisciplinary research centre for radio-isotopes production for medicine and for neutron beams.

The SPES off-line front-end apparatus involves a num-ber of subsystems and procedures that are po... more The SPES off-line front-end apparatus involves a num-ber of subsystems and procedures that are potentially dan-gerous both for human operators and for the equipments. The high voltage power supply, the ion source complex power supplies, the target chamber handling systems and the laser source are some example of these subsystems. For that reason, a safety control system has been devel-oped. It is based on Schneider Electrics Preventa fam-ily safety modules that control the power supply of crit-ical subsystems in combination with safety detectors that monitor critical variables. A Programmable Logic Con-troller (PLC), model BMXP342020 from the Schneider Electrics Modicon M340 family, is used for monitoring the status of the system as well as controlling the sequence of some operations in automatic way. A touch screen, model XBTGT5330 from the Schneider Electrics Magelis family, is used as Human Machine Interface (HMI) and commu-nicates with the PLC using MODBUS-TCP. Additionally, an ...