Superconducting radio-frequency technology
The SRF Program is an integrated managing organization for Fermilab’s SRF research and development and SRF capabilities, supporting efficient research and the timely completion of projects and programs. The program also maintains an extensive inventory of cavities and niobium material.
Superconducting radio-frequency cavities have become the modern standard for most current and planned particle accelerators because they provide continuous-wave acceleration and minimize beam-cavity interaction, preserving superior beam properties. Powerful SRF accelerators are operating worldwide, and new ones are also taking advantage of this enabling technology.
Fermilab’s recent innovations include the discovery of the nitrogen-doping effect and Meissner expulsion modification by thermal gradients. These advances can increase the quality factor of SRF cavities by up to four times, improving cost and operational efficiency for SRF accelerators. The LCLS-II project at SLAC is the first to benefit from these innovations.
Collaborations
The SRF Program benefits from a large international collaboration including Cornell University; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Northwestern University; the University of Chicago; High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Japan; Argonne National Laboratory; Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility; CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in Italy; Paul Scherrer Institute; the University of Bath in the United Kingdom; Western University in Canada; Los Alamos National Laboratory; and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.