HEP high energy physics

High Energy Physics (HEP)

Ensuring accurate timing in control and diagnostic systems for particle accelerators.

Why It’s Important

Accurate timing is crucial for the proper functioning, optimization, and safety of particle accelerators, as it enables:

Synchronization of Components
Precise coordination of various accelerator elements, such as radio-frequency (RF) cavities, beam monitors, and magnets, is essential for guiding and manipulating charged particles along the desired path.

Beam Diagnostics
Accurate timing is necessary for the effective use of diagnostic tools like beam position monitors, emittance monitors, and energy spectrometers, which help optimize accelerator performance and ensure the quality of generated particle beams.

Pulse Shaping and Beam Manipulation
Short, intense pulses of particles are often produced in accelerators. Precise timing is crucial for controlling the properties of these pulses, such as duration, intensity, and energy distribution.

Data Acquisition and Processing
Proper correlation and interpretation of data collected from various sensors and detectors rely on accurate timing, which is used to fine-tune accelerator performance and guarantee successful experiments.

Experiment Synchronization
Precise timing is necessary for coordinating the operation of particle accelerators with other instruments, such as detectors or external lasers, ensuring accurate and reliable experimental results.

Safety and Interlock Systems
Real-time monitoring of various parameters and triggering protective measures in case of anomalies or potentially hazardous situations are dependent on accurate timing, ensuring the protection of both the accelerator’s equipment and its operators.

Why Safran

Safran collaborates on many breaking-through challenges all around the world, providing best-in class and highly innovative solutions for the most demanding scientific facilities. We’re widely known as a world-wide leader on accurate sub-nanosecond time transfer and frequency distribution as well as having high expertise on advanced control systems for particle accelerators. Our company collaborates on many breaking-through challenges all around the world, providing best-in class and highly innovative solutions for the most demanding scientific facilities.

  • Control and Diagnostic for Particle Accelerators

    Safran already provides Low Level RF control systems, Beam Position Monitor and timing solutions to customers like CIEMAT, CERN, F4E, SARAF, ITER or ESS with outstanding performance.

  • CERN Collaboration

    Safran (previously Seven Solutions) is the original designer of the Open hardware White-Rabbit switch as well as the international leader on sub-nanosecond time transfer technology. White Rabbit is the key ingredient of our Timing Systems for Particle Accelerators. From a purely scientific idea came an industrial solution. It is now part of the IEEE-1588-2019 High Accuracy profile and widely used on many industrial segments thanks to our products ecosystem.

  • RF control system design for the IFMIF project

    We have collaborated with F4E and CIEMAT In the design of the LIPAc LLRF system as well as BPMs diagnosis elements including novel mechanisms for digital frequency dissemination. We also provided design for the upgrade of key elements of the LIPAc timing systems as well as on-site/off-site support for engineering activities based on the use of EPICS software and Fast /Slow Control elements, on-site Assistance for ESS for microTCA boards integration (firmware and drivers) as well as timing system support.