Design and operation of a two-stage positron accumulator

Abstract

A compact positron accumulator based upon a simple two-stage buffer gas cooling scheme is described. Its operation to produce 10–20ns wide bursts containing around 105 positrons with cycling times in the 100msto1s range is discussed. Departures of the behavior of the accumulator from that expected of such an instrument are presented. The utility of these effects in diagnosing accumulator performance is described.