Speaker
Description
RF conditioning of accelerating cavities and power couplers is required to reach nominal operating voltage. High field gradients trigger multipacting and outgassing, which raise the vacuum pressure and limit the RF power that can be applied before arcing occurs. For efficient and safe conditioning, a feedback loop keeps the drive inside the optimal zone where vacuum activity is provoked but stays within safe limits. Existing systems at CERN are based on legacy PCs from the 1990s or VME hardware developed 20 years ago, both critically obsolete.
A new generic FPGA IP core has been developed to integrate RF conditioning directly into the Low Level RF (LLRF) cavity-controller, eliminating dedicated hardware as well as reducing maintenance and system complexity. Developed for the HL-LHC crab cavities on the MicroTCA platform, it implements configurable RF pulse generation, automatic RF power ramping, frequency modulation and a vacuum feedback loop. Software supervision monitors the process and optimises the operating parameters.
The architecture of the IP core, its main functionalities, and the first experimental results obtained during validation will be presented.
| Abstract Classification | Control Architecture and Strategies |
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