International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Research Applications and Utilization of Accelerators

4-8 May 2009, Vienna

Radiation Protection Commissioning of the Electron Line of the Linac Coherent Light Source

M. Santana Leitner

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, United States of America

Corresponding Author: msantana@slac.stanford.edu

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a cutting-edge facility at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (operated by Stanford University for the US Department of Energy). This new machine uses high energy electrons delivered by the two-mile linac to create ultrafast and brilliant X-ray pulses, able to take stop-motion images of atoms and molecules. LCLS is a pioneer machine and, as such, its design has encountered unprecedented challenges, the solutions to which will benefit future facilities of its kind across the globe. This article describes the radiation protection aspects of LCLS electron beamline, summarizing the main issues and the corresponding protection systems. Special emphasis is made about the successful commissioning of LCLS electron line, where for all examined loss sources the measured prompt and residual dose rates are both in good accordance with or below the values predicted through detailed Monte Carlo simulations, used earlier for the design of the shielding.

The authors have assigned to the International Atomic Energy Agency a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to publish this paper.

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