Researchers at Daresbury, including members of the Cockcroft Institute, are a key part of the delivery of the FermiLab led Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) project. The expertise in testing RF cavities at Daresbury, including years of building experience working on the European Spallation Source, is proving invaluable to the success of the PIP-II project.
Recently a prototype superconducting RF cavity arrived for testing, having failed radiation testing requirements at FermiLab. After similar results were observed at Daresbury, the team performed an experimental twelve-hour high-pressure rinse process on the cavity, before cooling it to 2 kelvin and retesting it.
The results were a stunning success, with the performance of the cavity being so good after the experimental treatment that it has been reclassified from a failed prototype to the first cavity earmarked to be integrated into one of the three PIP-II cryomodules being constructed at Daresbury. This result makes the Daresbury team the first in the collaboration to successfully demonstrate removal of field emission problems in a cavity via the high pressure rinsing technique.
