First Linac4 DTL & CCDTL cavities installed in tunnel
On 5 June, the first Drift Tube Linac (DTL) was successfully transported to its forever home in the Linac4 tunnel. Similarly, the first Cell-Coupled Drift Tube Linac (CCDTL) was installed on 6 June. These moves marked the end of years of design and manufacturing by Linac4 teams.
Although it may seem like a relatively routine transport operation, the DTL's move was a landmark event for the entire Linac4 collaboration. "Along with the first four Cell-Coupled DTL modules, which were installed on the following two working days, these are the first accelerating structures after front-end commissioning to be installed in the tunnel," says Frank Gerigk, who is responsible for all Linac4 accelerating structures. "It is a major milestone, because work on all these structures started well over a decade ago."
The transport operation was also quite a victory for the Linac4 DTL team, whose journey to a complete DTL structure has been a bit of a wild ride. "After many years designing and constructing these one-of-a-kind accelerating structures, we are extremely happy to have finished the assembly and testing of this first tank," says Suitbert Ramberger, project engineer for the Linac4 DTL. "Of course, we aren't quite done yet! We look forward to finishing and installing the other two DTL tanks in the coming months."
The CCDTL modules have also had a long journey to completion, as the first CCDTL modules arrived at CERN from Siberia in September 2012. The remaining five modules were delivered and assembled by a mixed Russia-CERN team in 2013. “Having finally seen these accelerating cavities in place in the tunnel, we are all very much looking forward to the first beam they will accelerate,” says Maurizio Vretenar, the Linac4 project leader.
Check out the video below to see the first DTL being transported into the Linac4 tunnel:
