Frequency control in the process of a multicell superconducting cavity production
Modifications in the geometry of a superconducting RF cavity due to various processing procedures are presented in a convenient matrix formulation. Specifically, the effect of chemical etching, cooling down, and preloading are characterized, while the corresponding frequency shifts are calculated with a reliable software. This matrix method was used in the fabrication of the first cornell energy recovery linac (ERL) 7-cell cavity. Cavity fabrication can be broken down into three main stages: deep-drawing cups, welding the cups in pairs to obtain "dumbbells" and end groups, and, finally, welding the obtained components into a completed cavity. Frequency measurements and precise machining were implemented after the second stage. A custom RF fixture and data acquisition system were designed and validated for this purpose. The system comprised of a mechanical press with RF contacts, a network analyzer, a load cell and custom LABVIEW and MATLAB scripts. To extract the individual frequencies of the cups from these measurements, the established algorithm of calculations was analysed and corrected. Corrections for the ambient environment were also incorporated into the measurement protocol. Using the procedure presented, the frequency deviation of the completed 1.3 GHz 7-cell cavity was 360 kHz, corresponding to an average error about 75 μm in length for every cell.