The Low-level Radio Frequency System for the Superconducting Cavities of National Synchrotron Light Source II

A digital low-level radio frequency (LLRF) field controller has been developed for the storage ring of The National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II). The primary performance goal for the LLRF is to support the required RF operation of the superconducting cavities with a beam current of 500mA and a 0.14 degree or better RF phase stability. The digital field controller is FPGA-based, in a standard format 19-inch/I-U chassis. It has an option of high-level control support with MATLAB running on a local host computer through a USB2.0 port. The field controller has been field tested with the high-power superconducting RF (SRF) at Canadian light Source, and successfully stored a high beam current of 250 mA. The test results show that required specifications for the cavity RF field stability are met. This digital field controller is also currently being used as a development platform for other functional modules in the NSLS-II RF systems.