CI experts from the University of Liverpool were awarded more than £100k by STFC as part of the Innovation Partnership Scheme for Follow-on Funding to carry out research into a novel QuantumJET which shall produce micrometer-focused beams of atoms and molecules for non-invasive, high resolution beam monitoring applications.
As a beam monitor, this novel device is expected to benefit essentially any high intensity, high energy accelerator where commonly used beam monitors no longer work, including high power accelerators such as the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) or Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS). It will also mark a breakthrough for accelerators that rely on very small cross sections that cannot be resolved with curtain-shaped gas jets, such as linear colliders.
More widely, the technology will be very attractive for any accelerator or light source that would benefit from non-destructive online beam monitoring, including medical accelerators and ion implanters.
Professor Carsten P Welsch, Head of Liverpool’s physics department and QuantumJet project leader said: “This is a fantastic success for our gas jet monitor R&D at the Cockcroft Institute. The project will allow us to transfer technology originally developed for the Large Hadron Collider towards much wider applications and help overcome current limitations. It shows how our R&D can create wider impact outside of fundamental research.”
The project will be realized in close collaboration with the CI’s spin-out company D-Beam Ltd, an STFC CERN Business Incubation Centre alumnus, and experts from UHV Design.