Low-Level Radio Frequency (LLRF) Workshop 2025

Initial commissioning of the new beam control system of the Proton Synchrotron at CERN

Oct 14, 2025, 2:10 PM

5m

Newport News Marriott at City Center

Oral or Poster

Speaker

Diego Barrientos (CERN)

Description

The Proton Synchrotron (PS), CERN’s first synchrotron, delivers proton and ion beams with intensities covering almost four orders of magnitude using 25 RF cavities with frequencies ranging from 0.4 to 200 MHz. The LLRF system includes multi-harmonic feedback loops to control the field in the cavities and beam-based loops to perform complex beam manipulations. The current beam control system is implemented using a mix of analog and digital hardware, suffering from obsolescence and reproducibility issues. The new fully digital system, implemented in VMEbus Switched Serial (VXS) and MicroTCA platforms, is currently in its initial commissioning phase. This work presents a complete description of the new beam control system as well as the first results of the initial commissioning phase in the machine.