Manufacturing, assembling and plasma cleaning of new SANAEM RFQ

Abstract

A new 1.2 m radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator cavity, made of oxygen-free copper (OFC) and capable of accelerating protons up to 1.3 MeV energy, is recently manufactured for the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEA), based on the motivation of establishing a proton beamline with indigenous capabilities. In the present article, the manufacturing and assembling procedures related to the new RFQ copper vanes, especially the novelties applied to a vane type RFQ accelerator cavity, namely plasma cleaning of vane surfaces and utilization of indium wire in vacuum sealing, will be described. The preliminary results, the vacuum level and quality factor, suggest that these applications indicate promising options for future accelerator cavity production.