17–22 May 2026
C.I.D
Europe/Zurich timezone

Modernizing the AWA Facility: Enhanced Beam Quality and Capabilities for High-Gradient RF and Beam Physics Research

THP3309
21 May 2026, 16:00
2h
C.I.D

C.I.D

Deauville, France
Poster Presentation MC3.A16: Advanced techniques/Novel sources: Advanced Concepts Poster session

Speaker

Alexander Ody (Argonne National Laboratory)

Description

The Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) is a 1300 MHz, 65 MeV normal-conducting photoinjector LINAC supporting a broad research program in high-gradient RF acceleration, beam physics, and AI/ML-based accelerator operations. The facility produces electron bunches span-ning 1 pC to 100 nC, including high-charge (~100 nC, ~25 kA), high-brightness (~hundreds nm emittance), and arbitrarily shaped formats, and delivers beam to 5 device-under-test zones along two primary experimental beam-lines.
Over the past decade the AWA has undergone exten-sive modernization, including replacement of the drive gun with an RF-symmetrized photoinjector; upgrade of the drive laser from a 248 nm excimer to a 262 nm Ti:sapphire system; transition to a distributed EPICS-based control system; and deployment of a digital LLRF system developed by the LBNL BACI group. Recent experiments have demonstrated accelerating gradients >300 MV/m in X-band structures, peak cathode fields >400 MV/m, and beam-driven RF power generation >565 MW.
Near-term plans include RF-symmetrized linac cavity replacements and an asymmetric EEX beamline upgrade. A proposed AWA-II upgrade would double the beam energy to ~130 MeV, further expanding the facility’s reach for high-gradient RF and beam physics research.

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Authors

Alexander Ody (Argonne National Laboratory) Eric Wisniewski (Argonne National Laboratory) Gongxiaohui Chen (Argonne National Laboratory) John Power (Argonne National Laboratory) Philippe Piot (Argonne National Laboratory) Rachel Margraf-O'Neal (Argonne National Laboratory) Scott Doran (Argonne National Laboratory) Wanming Liu (Argonne National Laboratory)

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