UITF - Upgraded Injector Test Facility
The Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) at Jefferson Lab is a compact SRF linear accelerator (linac) that can provide spin polarized electron beam at energy up to 8 MeV. Located in the high bay of building 58 on the Jefferson Lab campus, the space was originally used by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) for space radiation physics experiments. In the 1980s, its first official Jefferson Lab function was to demonstrate the thermionic gun-based, three-beam, 5 MeV pre-injector for the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). In the decades that followed, the space was used to develop new photoelectron guns and for photocathode studies. In 2020, it was expanded - and upgraded to restore MeV beam production - to support the evaluation of the spin-polarized hydrogen target, HDIce. Since then, the UITF has been used to test the removal of contaminants in drinking water, test new electron beam polarimeters and to develop a sub-harmonic kicker cavity for the EIC.
Facility bio
Name of Facility: Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF)
Laboratory: Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, aka Jefferson Lab
Address: 12000 Jefferson Ave., Newport News, VA, 23606 USA
Point of Contact: Matt Poelker
Facility website: Link
Publications list: Link
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Beam Type | Electrons: polarized and unpolarized |
| Beam Energy | 200 keV and 8 MeV |
| Repetition Rate | CW at 1497 MHz and subharmonics |
| Bunch Charge | Femto-Coulombs |
| Bunch Length | 35 ps at keV sub-ps at MeV |
| Beam spot size | Hundreds of microns to millimeters |
| Polarization | Up to 90% |
| Average Beam Current | 1 mA at keV 100 nA at MeV (10 to 100 microAmps possible with additional shielding) |
Capabilities
Science specialists: Matt Poelker (polarized electron beams, DC high voltage photoguns), Yan Wang (CW electron injectors)
Available tools: modern EPICS-based accelerator controls with the usual beamline diagnostics: BPMs, current monitoring, wire scanners, spectrometer beamlines
Ideal Experiment
UITF is the place for ‘spin’-related experiments that require polarized electron beam, and for experiments that benefit from CW beam at low bunch charge and high repetition rate. Evaluating polarized targets and polarimeters, photocathodes and devices operating at high repetition rates, like kicker cavities, and for industrial applications that require high average current, like water contaminant removal. UITF is intended to be modified, to add new beamline configurations to speed the process of device testing. Some rooftiles are designed to be removed, to permit installation and removal of large equipment.
