Title: A New Superconducting Linac: From SRF Cavity Production to Commissioning & Early Operations of LCLS-II at SLAC

Speaker: Dan Gonnella, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Abstract: The Linac Coherent Light Source II Project (LCLS-II) is a major expansion of the world’s first x-ray free electron laser. LCLS-II has facilitated the construction and installation of a new 4 GeV continuous wave superconducting electron linear accelerator at SLAC. The technology which has enabled LCLS-II to be successful, the novel nitrogen-doping SRF cavity preparation technique was a marvel achievement, developed in a R&D collaboration between SLAC, Fermilab, Jefferson Lab, and Cornell University and translated to the cavity production vendors to produce cavities of unprecedented performance. Here the story of LCLS-II is presented from the cavity R&D, through cavity and cryomodule production at Fermilab and Jefferson Lab, and to the installation and commissioning of the linac at SLAC. The success of LCLS-II has allowed for further upgrades to begin which will extend the electron beam energy to 8 GeV through further nitrogen-doping optimization. These early results from LCLS-II-HE will be presented with an outlook for future superconducting linacs.