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During the commissioning phase of LINAC 4, three watchdog interlock systems were used to protect the accelerator and its equipment. These systems cut the beam if losses, calculated by combining the intensity measurements at various locations, exceed some predefined thresholds. While the existing systems were designed to be simple and robust to ensure safety, the future connection of the linac to the Proton Synchrotron Booster (PSB) requires new instances of these systems with additional requirements. Such requirements include the remote communication of the watchdogs with the intensity measurement systems to decouple any physical dependency between the two systems, and the arithmetical/logical combination of the measured data based on the watchdog location. As the Controls Interlocks Beam User (CIBU) hardware interface to the Beam Interlock Controller (BIC) is simple, the software part of the system can be re-designed to be application agnostic giving a single decision after performing a configurable set of comparisons. This paper describes the upgrade of the software of the existing watchdog interlock system to a generic comparator, enabling its usage for other applications., Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Accelerator and Large Experimental Physics Control Systems, ICALEPCS2019, New York, NY, USA

The construction, installation and initial commissioning of CERN's LINAC4 was completed in 2016 with H⁻ ions successfully accelerated to its top energy of 160 MeV. The accelerator is equipped with a large number of beam diagnostic systems that are essential to monitor, control and optimize the beam parameters. A general overview of the installed systems and their functional specifications will be followed by a summary of the most relevant results. This includes transverse profile monitors (wire scanners, wire grids and a laser profile monitor), beam position and phase monitors (whose ToF measurements were essential for adjusting RF cavity parameters), beam loss monitors, beam current transformers and longitudinal beam shape monitors. This contribution will also cover the beam instrumentation for the so-called PSB Half Sector Test, which has been temporarily installed in the LINAC4 transfer line to study H⁻ stripping efficiency. At this facility it was possible to test the new H⁰/H⁻ beam current monitor, designed to monitor the stripping efficiency and an essential element of the beam interlock system when the LINAC4 is connected to the PSB in 2019., Proceedings of the 8th Int. Particle Accelerator Conf., IPAC2017, Copenhagen, Denmark

As part of the CERN LHC injector chain upgrade, LINAC4 will accelerate H⁻ ions to 160 MeV, replacing the old 50 MeV proton linac. The ion source, the Low Energy Beam Transfer (LEBT) line, the 3 MeV Radio Frequency Quadrupole and the Medium Energy Beam Transfer (MEBT) line hosting a chopper, have been first commissioned in a dedicated test stand and are now tested in the LINAC4 tunnel. Diagnostics devices are installed in the LEBT and MEBT line and in a movable diagnostics test bench which is temporarily added to the MEBT exit. The paper gives an overview of all the instruments used, including beam current transformers, beam position monitors, wire scanners and wire grids for transverse profile measurements, a longitudinal bunch shape monitor and a slit-and-grid emittance meter. The movable test bench also includes a spectrometer that allows measuring the beam energy spread in conjunction with a wire grid. The present understanding of the instrumentation performance is discussed and the measurement results that allowed characterizing the 3 MeV beam in the LINAC4 tunnel are summarized., Proceedings of the 5th Int. Particle Accelerator Conf., IPAC2014, Dresden, Germany

As part of the CERN LHC injector chain upgrade, LINAC4 will accelerate H^{−} ions to 160 MeV, replacing the old 50 MeV proton linac. The ion source, the Low Energy Beam Transfer (LEBT) line, the 3 MeV Radio Frequency Quadrupole and the Medium Energy Beam Transfer (MEBT) line hosting a chopper, have been first commissioned in a dedicated test stand and are now tested in the LINAC4 tunnel. Diagnostics devices are installed in the LEBT and MEBT line and in a movable diagnostics test bench which is temporarily added to the MEBT exit. The paper gives an overview of all the instruments used, including beam current transformers, beam position monitors, wire scanners and wire grids for transverse profile measurements, a longitudinal bunch shape monitor and a slit-and-grid emittance meter. The movable test bench also includes a spectrometer that allows measuring the beam energy spread in conjunction with a wire grid. The present understanding of the instrumentation performance is discussed and the measurement results that allowed characterizing the 3 MeV beam in the LINAC4 tunnel are summarized.