Plasma Processing of FRIB Low-Beta Cryomodules using Higher-Order-Modes

TL;DR

This paper reports on the development and application of plasma processing techniques, including higher-order mode driving, to improve the performance of FRIB low-beta cryomodules by reducing field emission and increasing accelerating gradients.

Contribution

It introduces the use of higher-order modes for plasma processing of FRIB cryomodules and presents the first in-tunnel plasma processing trials with significant performance improvements.

Findings

Significant reduction in field emission after plasma processing.

Increased average accelerating gradient post-processing.

Successful in-tunnel plasma processing trials at FRIB.

Abstract

Improvement in SRF accelerator performance after in-tunnel plasma processing has been seen at SNS and CEBAF. Plasma processing development for FRIB quarter-wave and half-wave resonators (QWRs, HWRs) was initiated in 2020. Plasma processing on individual QWRs (beta = 0.085) and HWRs (beta = 0.53) has been found to significantly reduce field emission. A challenge for the FRIB cavities is the relatively weak fundamental power coupler (FPC) coupling strength (chosen for efficient continuous-wave acceleration), which produces a lot of mismatch during plasma processing at room temperature. For FRIB QWRs, driving the plasma with higher-order modes (HOMs) is beneficial to reduce the FPC mismatch and increase the plasma density. The first plasma processing trial on a spare FRIB QWR cryomodule was done in January 2024, with before-and-after bunker tests and subsequent installation into the linac tunnel. The first in-tunnel plasma processing trial was completed in September 2025. For both cryomodules, before-and-after cold tests showed a significant increase in the average accelerating gradient for field emission onset after plasma processing for some cavities. In parallel with the cryomodule trials, the use of dual-drive plasma is being explored with the goal of improving the effectiveness of plasma processing.