Development of a New Beam Intensity Monitor Prototype

There are many kinds of beam monitors at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) to monitor the properties of the many beamlines at this facility. One such monitor is the XSCI (eXperimental SCIntillator paddle counter) intensity monitor. These monitors operate in air, which can negatively impact beam integrity. To solve this, a new XSCI design that can operate in vacuum has been developed. This new design must fit into existing infrastructure, requiring changes to the monitor such as modified light guide lengths, vacuum compatibility, and a different motor configuration. This report will discuss the assembly of a prototype of this new monitor, including the design of optical gluing components and the evaluation of the performance of light guides. Furthermore, this new design was tested in the beamline, and the efficiency was analyzed in comparison with existing detectors. The efficiency was found to be greater than 99.5% for most intensities, which exceeds the 98% efficiency cutoff set by the users of the new monitor, the beam physicists at CERN. As a result, this new design can be recommended as a replacement for current XSCI monitors.