Quench Detection in a Superconducting Radio Frequency Cavity with Combine Temperature and Magnetic Field Mapping

TL;DR

This study combines temperature and magnetic field mapping using advanced sensors to precisely locate hot spots and trapped flux regions in a superconducting RF cavity, providing direct evidence linking localized vortices to quench events.

Contribution

It introduces a combined magnetic and temperature mapping approach with AMR sensors and flux gate magnetometers to identify hot spots and trapped flux effects during RF cavity operation.

Findings

Hot spots are located near the equator during quench events.

Trapped magnetic flux influences hot spot positions.

Magnetic flux changes are detected during quench, confirming vortex involvement.

Abstract

Local dissipation of RF power in superconducting radio frequency cavities create so called hot spots, primary precursors of cavity quench driven by either thermal or magnetic instability. These hot spots are detected by a temperature mapping system, and a large increase in temperature on the outer surface is detected during cavity quench events. Here, we have used combined magnetic and temperature mapping systems using anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) sensors and carbon resisters to locate the hot spots and areas with high trapped flux on a 3.0 GHz single-cell Nb cavity during the RF tests at 2.0 K. The quench location and hot spots were detected near the equator when the residual magnetic field in the Dewar is kept < 1 mG. The hot spots and quench locations moved when the magnetic field is trapped locally, as detected by T-mapping system. No significant dynamics of trapped flux is detected by AMR sensors, however, change in magnetic flux during cavity quench is detected by a flux gate magnetometer, close to the quench location. The result provides the direct evidence of hot spots and quench events due to localized trapped vortices.