Precise alignment of the cathodes at the electron accelerator

With its project “bERLinPro”, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin [HZB] strives to develop a new technological basis for an “Energy Recovery Linac” (linear accelerator with energy recovery) in order to further develop accelerator technologies. Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin relies for this purpose on Micro-Epsilon’s precise measurement technology.

A photo cathode in a superconductive high-frequency electron gun is used to optimize the source of the electron bunches that are to be accelerated. During further acceleration, the electron bunches thereby generated remain more compact than bunches from other sources. This allows them to be used for achieving higher-quality X-rays, among other things. The electron source in the bERLinPro project is aligned by using three capacitive flat sensors together with a DT6220 controller. In the process, the tilting and change of the holder’s position during cooling from room temperature to 2 Kelvin (-271 °C) is monitored.