ALBA is a 3rd generation synchrotron light source located in Spain, in operation since 2012. In preparation for its upgrade to a 4th generation facility, which requires addressing the significantly reduced Touschek lifetime, ALBA has designed and constructed a higher-order mode (HOM) damped active 3rd harmonic RF cavity. This cavity is designed to longitudinally lengthen the electron bunches, thereby reducing their density and enhancing the beam lifetime. The design is based on the EU HOM-damped cavity currently employed in ALBA’s main radio frequency (RF) system. The cavity prototype was installed in the BESSY II ring under a collaborative agreement between ALBA, HZB, and DESY, institutions that operate at the same main RF frequency, 500 MHz. This paper presents the first commissioning results, including bead-pull measurements, high-power conditioning and initial beam tests in both single and multi-bunch operation modes. The results confirm that the cavity parameters are consistent with the design specifications, the HOMs are effectively mitigated, and the anticipated beam lifetime enhancement is achieved, demonstrating the feasibility of the designed cavity.

For control of RF cavities installed in Solaris storage ring light source the digital Low Level RF (dLLRF) system was necessary from the beginning of operation. Since there were no expertise at the new constructed facility and no time for development due to funds deadline, almost turn-key dLLRF from Alba has been implemented according to MAXIV selection. Thanks to high flexibility of dLLRF only small adaptations were needed in terms of interfaces to auxiliary systems and setup of parameters. This paper summarizes operational experience about installation, commissioning, learning-curve from entry-level user, beam operation and future upgrades of this dLLRF.

The AMIT cyclotron will be a 8.5 MeV, 10 μA, CW, H accelerator for radioisotope production, including a superconducting, weak focusing, 4 T magnet, allowing for a low extraction radius and a compact design. The cavity is a 60 MHz, quarter wave resonator powered by a modular 8 kW solid state amplifier. The design of the cavity dealed with challenging requirements: high electric fields required by a high voltage (60 kV) on a small gap, a small aperture of the magnet leading to high capacitances and thermal losses and a requirement for a low overall size of the cavity. The fabrication process included high precision machining, soft soldering, laser welding and careful metrologies, which are described together with other technical and practical aspects. The low power tests showed a good agreement with the simulations. The conditioning of the cavity was performed with a 1.1 T magnetic field applied on the central region. It was successfully finished regarding to maximum voltage reached, power losses and temperatures. The cavity was also tested at high power with a constant hydrogen flow injected in the central region (as expected in the cyclotron) with success.

Specifications on electron beam quality for the operation of a linac-based free-electron laser (FEL), as FERMI in Trieste (Italy), impose stringent requirements on the stability of the electromagnetic fields of the accelerating sections. These specifications can be met only with state-of-the-art low-level RF (LLRF) systems based on advanced digital technologies. Design considerations, construction, and performance results of the FERMI digital LLRF are presented in this paper. The stability requirements derived by simulations are better than 0.1% in amplitude and 0.1° S-band in phase. The system installed in the FERMI Linac S-band RF plants has met these specifications and is in operation on a 24-h basis as a user facility. Capabilities of the system allow planning for new developments that are also described here.

Free-electron lasers (FELs) are promising devices for generating light with laser-like properties in the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray spectral regions. Recently, FELs based on the self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) mechanism have allowed major breakthroughs in diffraction and spectroscopy applications, despite the relatively large shot-to-shot intensity and photon-energy fluctuations and the limited longitudinal coherence inherent in the SASE mechanism. Here, we report results on the initial performance of the FERMI seeded FEL, based on the high-gain harmonic generation configuration, in which an external laser is used to initiate the emission process. Emission from the FERMI FEL-1 source occurs in the form of pulses carrying energy of several tens of microjoules per pulse and tunable throughout the 65 to 20 nm wavelength range, with unprecedented shot-to-shot wavelength stability, low-intensity fluctuations, close to transform-limited bandwidth, transverse and longitudinal coherence and full control of polarization.

FERMI@Elettra is the soft X-ray, fourth generation light source facility at the Elettra Laboratory in Trieste, Italy. It is based on a seeded FEL, driven by a normal conducting linac that is presently expected to operate at 1.5 GeV. The former 6.15 m long linac sections used in the injector system of the Elettra Laboratory storage ring have been upgraded for use in FERMI@Elettra project. Those sections are backward travelling wave structures, equipped with SLED systems. The high peak field built up during conventional SLED operation brings to breakdown problems inside the sections that prevented from reaching the expected gradients. To lower the peak field phase-modulation of the SLED drive power has been implemented. A description of the phase modulation of the drive power and the results achieved is reported in the following paper.

Circulat is a systemic standardized plant extract formulation that was developed for the prevention of severe manifestations of type 2 diabetes such as necrotic damage of the plantar foot. With the aim of revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying Circulat's biological activity, the effects of Circulat treatment on gene expression levels were examined in the cultured human fibroblast cell line MRC-5 using Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarrays. The analysis identified 187 genes, the expression levels of which underwent significant changes upon Circulat treatment. These include four genes (IL6, HMGA1, SLC19A2 and C4A) that have been implicated previously in the development of diabetes. A large proportion of the identified genes are involved in energy metabolism, protein synthesis, glucose metabolism and signaling pathways. Synergistic action of the Circulat components has also been revealed. Prospective applications of microarray analysis in phytopharmacology are discussed. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ALBA is a 3 GeV, 400 mA, 3 rd generation Synchrotron Light Source that is in the construction phase in Cerdanyola, Spain. The RF System will have to provi de 3.6 MV of accelerating voltage and restore up to 54 0 kW of power to the electron beam. Two LLRF prototypes are being developed in parallel, both following the IQ modulation/demodulation technique. One is fully based on analogue technologies; the other is based on dig ital FPGA processing. The advantages of the IQ technique will be summarised and the control loop logic descr ibed. The hardware implementation in analogue as well as in digital format will be presented and first test res ults shown. The implementation of the same logic with both technologies will give us a perfect bench to compar e, and use the better of them, for the final LLRF of the A LBA synchrotron.