Speaker
Description
Efficient production of radioactive isotope (RI) beams is critical for advancing nuclear physics research, and the superconducting in-flight separator BigRIPS has been a key component in this effort since 2007. To maximize user beam time and achieve optimal scientific outcomes, we have continuously refined technologies related to RI-beam separation and particle identification analysis. Key advancements include the implementation of feedback systems for precise magnetic field control, which have significantly improved production efficiency. For instance, the production time for the 132Sn beam was reduced from 16 hours in 2009 to approximately 4 hours in 2017, representing a four-fold reduction. However, the current manual operation poses limitations on further substantial time savings. As a significant step toward realizing a fully automated RI beam production system, we have developed an automated focusing and centering system to automatically tune the superconducting triplet quadrupole (STQ) and dipole magnets on the BigRIPS separator.
RI beams typically contain not only the nucleus of interest but also other nuclei, exhibiting a wide range of purities and intensities from 20% to 0.1% and from 30 kHz to 1 Hz, respectively. RI beam production requires tuning the BigRIPS separator specifically for the nucleus of interest. To automate RI beam tuning, we have developed analysis programs capable of handling these diverse beam conditions without manual operation. For instance, this includes particle identification (PID) analysis, crucial for selecting the nucleus of interest. We have developed an automated parameter calibration of PID using a relational database containing isomer information. This sophisticated analysis is integrated into the BigRIPS device control and data acquisition (DAQ) systems via the recently developed BYACO platform, which enables the execution of automated sequences for RI beam production by providing functions to monitor the primary beam status, DAQ, analysis, and magnetic fields. We have developed the sequencer programming to adjust the magnet current values based on automatically analyzed results and other statuses. Tests of the automated focusing and centering system have been successfully demonstrated, reducing the tuning time from 30 - 60 minutes to approximately 12 minutes, achieving a time reduction of 1/2 to 1/4 compared to manual operation.
This conference will present the development of sophisticated analysis and sequencer programming for automated RI beam tuning, as well as the demonstration experiment on the automated focusing and centering.
| Email address | yohei.shimizu@riken.jp |
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