The Intense Beams Experiment (IBEX) at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory has been upgraded to enable the study of how particles behave inside the complex fields of a particle accelerator.

After successfully supporting the original ‘Paul Trap’ assembly in 2016, our Manufacturing Group have again collaborated with the project team on the challenging precision assembly of the upgrade.

To develop new particle accelerators for the future, it’s important to understand the behaviour of the particles while they are being accelerated.

IBEX is a table-top-sized ‘Paul Trap’ that uses very similar physics to an accelerator but traps a bunch of Argon ions rather than a beam of protons.

Instead of studying the beam as it travels, you can adjust the electric fields controlling the bunch of ions and measure the effects.

With this new upgraded experiment, the team hope to understand more about how particles behave inside an accelerator, using the knowledge to inform the design of ISIS-II and other high-intensity machines.

The upgrade to this Paul Trap also aimed to improve on the accuracy of position and form of the electrodes in the assembly from within 20μm to 10μm (0.01mm).

This very ambitious tolerance was eventually achieved in all areas from a culmination of intricate design from the ISIS Design Division, expert manufacturing, and the precision measurement of all the components using our facility’s Accura CMM.

We also produced a 3-D printed demonstration model for public engagement purposes that can be completely taken apart and reassembled.