Overview of the CLEAR plasma lens experiment

TL;DR

This paper presents an overview of the development and readiness of the CLEAR plasma lens experiment at CERN, aimed at investigating the properties and potential of plasma-based focusing devices for charged particle beams.

Contribution

It introduces the design, construction, and integration of a new plasma lens experiment at CERN's CLEAR facility, addressing key questions about plasma lens performance and capabilities.

Findings

Subsystems constructed and tested

Experiment ready for beamline testing

Preliminary results on plasma lens uniformity

Abstract

Discharge capillary-based active plasma lenses are a promising new technology for strongly focusing charged particle beams, especially when combined with novel high gradient acceleration methods. Still, many questions remain concerning such lenses, including their transverse field uniformity, limitations due to plasma wakefields and whether they can be combined in multi-lens lattices in a way to cancel chromaticity. These questions will be addressed in a new plasma lens experiment at the CLEAR User Facility at CERN. All the subsystems have been constructed, tested and integrated into the CLEAR beam line, and are ready for experiments starting late 2017.