Commissioning the ELENA Beam Diagnostics Systems at CERN

Abstract

The Extra Low ENergy Antiproton ring (ELENA) at CERN entered the commissioning phase in November 2016 using H⁻ ions and antiprotons to setup the machine at the different energy plateaus. The low intensities and energy of the ELENA beam generate very weak signals making beam diagnostics very challenging. With a circulating beam current of less than 1 μA and an energy where the beam annihilates in less than a few microns of matter, special care was taken during the design phase to ensure an optimal performance of these measurement devices once installed on the ring and transfer lines. A year on we present the performance of the various devices that have been deployed to measure the beam parameters from the extraction point of the Antiproton Decelerator (AD), through the ELENA ring and in the experimental lines