Tandem double-target-chamber irradiation device

Abstract

The invention provides a tandem double-target-chamber irradiation device, and belongs to the technical field of application of particle accelerators. The device comprises a differential section vacuum cavity, a first irradiation target chamber and a second irradiation target chamber which are connected in sequence. And a first quadrupole magnet, a second quadrupole magnet and an octupole magnet are arranged in the differential section vacuum cavity and are respectively used for defocusing, focusing and homogenizing beam flow. The first irradiation target chamber is provided with a liftable target frame and is isolated from the second irradiation target chamber through a gate valve. The device is configured to automatically switch beam modes under the condition of maintaining high vacuum by controlling starting and stopping of the magnet, lifting of the target material frame and opening and closing of the valve, and samples in the two target chambers are subjected to continuous irradiation with high and low particle number densities in sequence. The device has the advantages of high precision, high cleanliness, high efficiency, compact structure and low cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of particle accelerator applications and nuclear technology, specifically to a vacuum target chamber device for material irradiation experiments, and particularly to a tandem dual-target chamber irradiation device. Background Technology

[0002] Ground-based simulated irradiation experiments are a crucial means of studying the radiation effects of materials, verifying radiation hardening, and exploring the properties of new materials. These experiments place extremely high demands on beam control precision, the cleanliness of the experimental environment, and experimental efficiency.

[0003] There are two main technical approaches to existing irradiation experimental devices. The first approach, as disclosed in CN116400396A, can homogenize the beam using quadrupole and octupole magnets, but its beam control aims to form a uniform beam spot to serve a single target chamber. It lacks the ability to flexibly switch the number of beam particles through the coordinated control of quadrupole magnets. At the same time, the target chamber is a single-cavity structure, and when conducting experiments with multiple materials, the vacuum environment needs to be broken to replace the sample. This process takes up to several hours, which seriously restricts the experimental efficiency.

[0004] The second technical approach, such as the device disclosed in CN111292866A, distributes the beam to multiple parallel atmospheric irradiation terminals through a beam-splitting device and a diode magnet, achieving industrial-grade high-throughput production. However, this approach places the sample in the atmosphere for irradiation, which causes beam scattering, energy attenuation, and is prone to oxidation and contamination, making it completely unsuitable for precision materials science research that demands stringent requirements for experimental environment cleanliness and beam parameter accuracy.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need in this field for an experimental apparatus and method that can maintain a high vacuum environment to ensure experimental accuracy and cleanliness, and can efficiently and continuously irradiate a variety of materials with different requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of existing technologies and provide a tandem dual-target-chamber irradiation device. This device and method, while maintaining a high vacuum, can achieve continuous and automated irradiation of materials with different irradiation requirements by switching beam modes and internal coordinated control, achieving both high precision and high efficiency.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: This invention provides a tandem dual-target chamber irradiation device, comprising a differential segment vacuum cavity, a first irradiation target chamber, and a second irradiation target chamber connected sequentially along the beam direction; The differential segment vacuum cavity includes a first quadrupole magnet, a second quadrupole magnet, and an octupole magnet arranged sequentially along the beam direction; the first quadrupole magnet is configured to defocus the beam, the second quadrupole magnet is configured to focus the beam, and the octupole magnet is used to correct the beam distribution to a uniform distribution. The first irradiation target chamber is connected to the differential section vacuum chamber via a vacuum connection assembly, and a first liftable target frame is provided inside the chamber; the first irradiation target chamber and the second irradiation target chamber are isolated by a vacuum isolation valve. The device is configured to have two operating modes: When the first quadrupole magnet is de-energized and the second quadrupole magnet is activated, the beam is focused and enters the first irradiation target chamber, forming a high particle number density irradiation mode. When the second quadrupole magnet is de-energized and the first quadrupole magnet is activated, the beam is defocused and passes through the opened vacuum isolation valve into the second irradiation target chamber, forming a low particle number density irradiation mode.

[0008] Preferably, the vacuum connection assembly is a flexible connection assembly.

[0009] Preferably, the flexible connection component is a corrugated pipe.

[0010] Preferably, the vacuum isolation valve is a slide gate valve.

[0011] Preferably, the first irradiation target chamber is further provided with an aperture for controlling the beam aperture and its aperture motor, as well as a fluorescent target and its fluorescent target motor for observing the beam shape.

[0012] Preferably, the first liftable target frame is driven by a target frame motor, which can realize vertical lifting movement.

[0013] Preferably, the first liftable target frame can also be driven by the target frame motor to perform horizontal rotation.

[0014] Preferably, the step of irradiating the first sample includes controlling the rotation of the first liftable target frame to switch between different samples in the first irradiation target chamber for irradiation.

[0015] Preferably, the device is configured to: irradiate a first sample placed on the first liftable target frame with high particle number density when the vacuum isolation valve is closed, the first quadrupole magnet is de-energized, and the second quadrupole magnet is activated; and irradiate a second sample placed in the second irradiation target chamber with low particle number density when the first liftable target frame is lowered, the vacuum isolation valve is opened, the second quadrupole magnet is de-energized, and the first quadrupole magnet is activated.

[0016] Preferably, the device is further configured to switch between different samples in the first irradiation target chamber for irradiation by controlling the rotation of the first liftable target frame.

[0017] Preferably, the differential vacuum chamber, the first irradiation target chamber, and the second irradiation target chamber are configured to maintain a high vacuum environment, so that the entire process of switching from irradiating the first sample to irradiating the second sample can be completed continuously without breaking the vacuum.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: 1. Achieved efficient continuous experiments in a high vacuum environment: Through the synergistic effect of the tandem dual-target chamber design, vacuum isolation valve, and liftable target holder, as well as the matching operation method, it was possible to irradiate samples placed in two target chambers at different times without disrupting the overall vacuum. This reduced the time for changing samples under different conditions from several hours to several minutes, greatly improving experimental efficiency.

[0019] 2. It provides flexible and adjustable beam conditions: By independently controlling the start and stop of the two quadrupole magnets, it is possible to flexibly switch between high and low particle number density beam modes. One set of equipment can meet the material experiments with various different irradiation requirements, which significantly enhances the versatility and experimental capabilities of the equipment.

[0020] 3. Ensures high precision and cleanliness of the experiment: The entire beam transmission and irradiation process is carried out in an ultra-high vacuum environment, avoiding beam scattering, sample oxidation and contamination, ensuring the accuracy and repeatability of experimental data, and making it suitable for high-end materials science and semiconductor radiation effect research.

[0021] 4. Compact structure and optimized cost: The tandem linear layout eliminates the need for the bipolar deflection magnets and complex beam splitting system required by traditional multi-terminal devices, making the device structure more compact and significantly reducing manufacturing and operation and maintenance costs. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the tandem dual-target chamber irradiation device of the present invention.

[0023] Explanation of the labels in the diagram: 1-Differential segment vacuum cavity, 11-First quadrupole magnet, 12-Second quadrupole magnet, 13-Octopole magnet, 14-Vacuum acquisition system; 2-First irradiation target chamber, 21-First liftable target frame, 22-Aperture motor, 23-Fluorescent target motor, 24-Target frame motor; 3-Second irradiation target chamber; 4-Vacuum connection assembly; 5-Vacuum isolation valve. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] Device Examples like Figure 1 As shown, the core design concept of the tandem dual-target chamber irradiation device provided by the present invention is to arrange two fully functional irradiation target chambers in series on the same straight beam line, and to achieve high-efficiency and multifunctional irradiation experiments through innovative beam control and vacuum switching logic.

[0026] The device mainly consists of three parts: a differential vacuum chamber 1, a first irradiation target chamber 2, and a second irradiation target chamber 3.

[0027] The differential vacuum cavity 1 is the core region for beam control. Inside, along the beam direction, are sequentially arranged a first quadrupole magnet 11, a second quadrupole magnet 12, and an octupole magnet 13. The first quadrupole magnet 11 is preferably configured to defocus the beam after it has passed through a pre-accelerator (such as a DTL accelerator); the second quadrupole magnet 12 is preferably configured to focus the beam. The octupole magnet 13 is located after the first two and its function is to use the octupole magnetic field to correct the higher-order phase difference of the beam, correcting the common Gaussian distribution beam to a beam with an approximately uniform distribution across the cross-section, thus meeting the experimental requirements for uniform irradiation. The differential vacuum cavity 1 is maintained at a high vacuum state by a vacuum acquisition system 14. In this embodiment, the vacuum acquisition system 14 preferably employs two sets of pumping units combining mechanical pumps and molecular pumps. First, the mechanical pump evacuates the cavity to -2 mbar, and then the differential pump connected to it evacuates to -8 mbar, maintaining the cavity at a high vacuum state.

[0028] The first irradiation target chamber 2 is connected to the differential section vacuum chamber 1 via a vacuum connection assembly 4. The vacuum connection assembly 4 is a hollow tubular component used to provide a vacuum-sealed transmission channel for the beam and to connect the two vacuum chambers. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the vacuum connection assembly 4 is a flexible connection assembly, specifically, it can be implemented using a bellows. The bellows not only ensures the vacuum tightness of the connection, but its flexible structure also has good shock absorption effects, isolating the influence of external vibrations on the beam stability. The core component inside the first irradiation target chamber 2 is the first liftable target frame 21. This target frame 21 is driven by a target frame motor 24, preferably a precision stepper motor or servo motor, which can achieve vertical lifting and lowering movement. When irradiation is needed, it rises to the center beam line of the chamber, and after irradiation or when it needs to make way for the downstream beam, it descends to the bottom of the chamber. In a more preferred embodiment, the first liftable target holder 21 can also rotate horizontally, allowing multiple samples mounted on the target holder to rotate sequentially to the beam line for irradiation, achieving batch processing of multiple samples in a single loading. Furthermore, the first irradiation target chamber 2 is typically equipped with auxiliary components such as an aperture (not fully shown in the figure) and an aperture motor 22, a fluorescence target (not fully shown in the figure) and a fluorescence target motor 23, for preliminary beam collimation, beam spot shape observation, etc.

[0029] The second irradiation target chamber 3 is connected to the first irradiation target chamber 2 via a vacuum isolation valve 5. The vacuum isolation valve 5 is a key component controlling the beam flow path between the two target chambers. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the vacuum isolation valve 5 is a gate valve. When closed, it completely isolates the first irradiation target chamber 2 from the second irradiation target chamber 3, ensuring that the beam is confined within the first irradiation target chamber 2. When open, the beam can be transmitted unimpeded from the first irradiation target chamber 2 to the second irradiation target chamber 3. The second irradiation target chamber 3 may contain a fixed sample holder or a second liftable target holder (not shown in the figure) for placing the sample to be irradiated.

[0030] Control Flow Examples The device of this invention, through its control system, is particularly suitable for experimental scenarios requiring high-particle-number-density and low-particle-number-density irradiation of two materials, respectively. The device is configured to execute the following control flow: Initial State: In the initial state of the apparatus, open the sample loading ports of the first irradiation target chamber 2 and the second irradiation target chamber 3 (the local vacuum must be broken first). Place the first sample requiring high particle number density irradiation on the first liftable target holder 21 of the first irradiation target chamber 2, and place the second sample requiring low particle number density irradiation on the sample holder in the second irradiation target chamber 3. Then close the sample loading ports and use the vacuum system to evacuate the entire apparatus to a high vacuum state. Initialize the system, ensuring that the vacuum isolation valve 5 is closed and all magnets are in standby mode.

[0031] First sample irradiation (high particle number density mode): a) Control the first liftable target holder 21 to rise so that the first sample is precisely positioned on the beam line.

[0032] b) Configure the beam mode: De-energize the first quadrupole magnet 11 (i.e., it does not defocus), while energizing the second quadrupole magnet 12 and adjusting its magnetic field gradient to the preset focusing parameters.

[0033] c) Switching the beam mode: De-energize the second quadrupole magnet 12 (i.e., stop focusing), while energizing the first quadrupole magnet 11 and adjusting its magnetic field gradient to the preset defocusing parameters.

[0034] Second sample irradiation (low particle number density mode): a) The beam, after being defocused by the first quadrupole magnet 11 and homogenized by the octupole magnet 13, forms a low-particle-number-density and uniformly distributed beam. This beam passes through the unobstructed first irradiation target chamber 2 and the opened vacuum isolation valve 5, and enters the second irradiation target chamber 3.

[0035] b) The beam is irradiated onto the second sample to begin the low particle number density irradiation experiment.

[0036] Experiment complete: After the second sample has been irradiated, the beam is cut off, and the power supplies to each magnet can be turned off as needed. Throughout the entire process, the vacuum environment of the apparatus is maintained without the need to break the vacuum.

[0037] Through the above control logic, the device of the present invention realizes continuous and automated operation of two experiments under different irradiation conditions within one vacuuming cycle, which improves efficiency by orders of magnitude and fully guarantees the cleanliness of the experimental environment and the reliability of the data.

[0038] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A tandem dual- target chamber irradiation device, characterized by, The differential segment vacuum cavity (1), the first irradiation target chamber (2) and the second irradiation target chamber (3) are sequentially connected along the beam direction; The differential segment vacuum cavity (1) comprises a first quadrupole magnet (11), a second quadrupole magnet (12) and an octupole magnet (13) arranged sequentially along the beam direction; the first quadrupole magnet (11) is configured to defocus the beam, the second quadrupole magnet (12) is configured to focus the beam, and the octupole magnet (13) is used to correct the beam distribution to uniform distribution; The first irradiation target chamber (2) is connected with the differential segment vacuum cavity (1) through a vacuum connection assembly (4), and a first liftable target material rack (21) is arranged in the vacuum connection assembly (4); the first irradiation target chamber (2) and the second irradiation target chamber (3) are isolated through a vacuum isolation valve (5); The device is configured to have two working modes: When the first quadrupole magnet (11) is powered off and the second quadrupole magnet (12) is working, the beam is focused and enters the first irradiation target chamber (2), forming a high particle number density irradiation mode; When the second quadrupole magnet (12) is powered off and the first quadrupole magnet (11) is working, the beam is defocused and enters the second irradiation target chamber (3) through the opened vacuum isolation valve (5), forming a low particle number density irradiation mode.

2. The tandem dual- target chamber irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The vacuum connection assembly (4) is a flexible connection assembly.

3. The tandem dual- target chamber irradiation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, The flexible connection assembly is a bellows.

4. The tandem dual- target chamber irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The vacuum isolation valve (5) is a plug valve.

5. The tandem dual -target chamber irradiation apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The first irradiation target chamber (2) is further provided with a diaphragm for controlling the beam aperture and a diaphragm motor (22) thereof, and a fluorescent target for observing the beam shape and a fluorescent target motor (23) thereof.

6. The tandem dual- target chamber irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 or 5, characterized by The first liftable target material rack (21) is driven by a target material rack motor (24) to realize vertical lifting movement.

7. The tandem dual- target chamber irradiation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein The first liftable target material rack (21) can also be driven by the target material rack motor (24) to realize horizontal rotation movement.

8. The tandem double-target chamber irradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to: when the vacuum isolation valve (5) is closed, the first quadrupole magnet (11) is powered off and the second quadrupole magnet (12) is working, a first sample placed on the first liftable target material rack (21) is irradiated with high particle number density; and when the first liftable target material rack (21) is lowered, the vacuum isolation valve (5) is opened, the second quadrupole magnet (12) is powered off and the first quadrupole magnet (11) is working, a second sample placed in the second irradiation target chamber (3) is irradiated with low particle number density. The device is further configured to switch the irradiation of different samples in the first irradiation target chamber (2) by controlling the rotation of the first liftable target material rack (21). The differential segment vacuum cavity (1), the first irradiation target chamber (2) and the second irradiation target chamber (3) are configured to maintain a high vacuum environment, so that the whole process from switching from irradiation of the first sample to irradiation of the second sample is continuously completed without breaking the vacuum.

9. The tandem dual- source chamber irradiation apparatus of claim 8, wherein, ​ 10. The tandem dual -target chamber irradiation apparatus of claim 1, wherein, ​

Images