This paper describes the hardware and operations of the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beam at Fermilab. It elaborates on the design considerations for the beam as a whole and for individual elements. The most important design details of individual components are described. Beam monitoring systems and procedures, including the tuning and alignment of the beam and NuMI long-term performance, are also discussed.

A new underground beamline is being constructed at Fermilab to generate and focus a beam of neutrinos on a detector 450 miles away in Soudan, Minnesota. A compact modulator utilizing capacitive energy storage and SCRs as the switching element has been built and tested at Fermilab. The 0.9 F capacitor bank operates at less than 1 kV. It delivers its output of up to 240 kA directly to the two series connected focusing horns via a multi-layer radiation hard stripline. Dual pulse width capability allows for ready selection of 5.2 ms, for slow beam spills, or 2.6 ms operation for reduced thermal stresses on the focusing horns during fast spill. Intended for installation in an underground equipment room, the design incorporates several novel features to facilitate transport, installation, and maintenance. Various designs were examined to arrive at the most economical approach for providing the high pulse currents to the horns located in the very high radiation field, up to 3×107 kRads/yr absorbed dose of the beamline. These included charge recovery and electronic polarity reversal systems. The direct coupling approach was selected for its overall economy and compactness. The system has been operational for several months and results of those tests are discussed. Controls and safety issues are also discussed.

There are two different horn systems under construction at Fermilab for neutrino beamlines. The NuMI project requires a power supply that operates at 970 V, 205 kA, 2.6 ms, and 0.53 pps. The MiniBooNE project requires a power supply that operates at 5.5 kV, 170 kA, 140 /spl mu/s and 5 pps. Both require long low inductance connections between the power supply and horn; 60 feet for MiniBooNE and 230 feet for NuMI. This paper discusses several electrical and mechanical design requirements that have been overcome. These include low impedance, radiation hardness, voltage holdoff, clamping for electrical and mechanical connections and humidity and dust control. Measurements of the inductance of the striplines and voltage holdoff will be compared to calculations. The results of some tests will be discussed.

A second and third modulator are being built at Fermilab to drive the klystrons for the TESLA Test Facility. These modulators are similar to one previously built at Fermilab. However, there are two differences. First, the new modulators are designed for a 10 MW multi-beam klystron under design by Thomson. Second, IGBT switches are being used in place of GTOs. The development of the series IGBT switch to replace the GTO switch is the most significant challenge. IGBTs have the advantages of lower gate drive and shorter turn off delay time.

A novel modulator has been designed, built and tested for the TESLA test facility. This e{sup +} e{sup {minus}} accelerator concept uses superconducting RF cavities and requires 2ms of RF power at 10 pps. As the final accelerator will require several hundred modulators, a cost effective, space saving and high efficiency design is desired. This modulator used a modest size switched capacitor bank that droops approximately 20% during the pulse. This large droop is compensated for by the use of a resonant LC circuit. The capacitor bank is connected to the high side of a pulse transformer primary using a series GTO switch. The resonant circuit is connected to the low side of the pulse transformer primary. The output pulse is flat to within 1% for 1.9 ms during a 2.3 ms base pulse width. Measured efficiency, from breaker to klystron and including energy lost in the rise time, is approximately 85%.