FETS completion

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Protons, subatomic particles that are one of the building blocks of matter, can be given large amounts of energy by passing through a machine called a proton accelerator. Such high energy protons can be used in a wide variety of applications, from the production of radioisotopes for the treatment of disease, to the investigation of the structure of matter that benefits both industry and science. The first step in any proton accelerator complex is the so-called proton driver. The Front End Test Stand (FETS), being built at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in the UK, is a project to create a new state-of-the-art proton driver that will be needed in order to provide proton accelerators with more intense, higher energy beams for future applications. The FETS produces a beam of negatively-charged hydrogen ions that is chopped up into smaller bunches. This chopping is needed in order to make it safer and easier to accelerate the protons that are obtained by removing the electrons from the hydrogen ion beam. The FETS collaboration involves a dedicated team of scientists and engineers from the UK, and has stimulated collaborations with leading international accelerator institutes such as CERN, FNAL, ESS and CNS.In this proposal, we seek to complete the construction of the FETS in a timely manner. The hydrogen ion source and initial beam focusing components have already been built and successfully commissioned. The remaining work is to install, test and commission the accelerating structures and chopper systems, and to evaluate the performace of the complete test stand. Upon successful completion of this project, the FETS can be used as a proton driver for further developments in proton accelerator systems for a wide range of applications in industry, medicine and science.