RF heating experiments with a TESLA-9-cell cavity towards in-situ low- / mid-T-baking

TL;DR

This study explores the feasibility of in-situ RF heating of a TESLA-9-cell cavity to enable low- and mid-temperature baking, potentially simplifying superconducting cavity processing for particle accelerators.

Contribution

It demonstrates that RF-based in-situ heating of a TESLA-9-cell cavity is feasible, addressing challenges of uneven heating across cavity cells.

Findings

RF heating of the cavity is achievable.

Uneven heating rates in individual cells pose a challenge.

In-situ RF baking could eliminate the need for disassembly.

Abstract

Under-vacuum low- and mid-temperature baking revealed beneficial effects on the performance of niobium-made cavities for superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) applications, primarily seen in particle accelerators. Such a baking process is typically performed in a dedicated oven. In this paper the experimental investigation is described, whether an appropriate heating of an elliptical 9-cell 1.3 GHz TESLA cavity is feasible using rf power, which would be a pre-condition for a processing done fully in-situ without the need of costly and risky dismantling / remounting operations. It is demonstrated that such a heating is possible, whilst complicated by uneven heating rates in the individual cavity cells.