Target Controller

From T-40 Tiara at Texas A&M

Target Controller[edit]

The Tiara chamber is equipped is a complexed target loading system, composed a Target Wheel, holding up to 6 targets, and an arm to catch the target from the wheel and bring it to the middle of the barrel. The target are old on the Wheel and arm using a combination of magnetic clasp and spring retainer. The target wheel and arm are controlled using two feedthrough on the chamber connected to an automated crate. The crate is controlled via Ganil's developed software over a local network. The control PC must be at address 172.1.6.139.50 while the crate is at address 172.16.139.56. The simplest way to operate is to have a close network between the control PC and the Crate and avoid using DHCP networking.

Important note: The motor used in the target controller generate a fair amount of noise on the silicon detector and must be turned off once the target in its final position.

The system operate under three action:

  1. Arm self-calibration
  2. Wheel self-calibration
  3. Target operation

The software provide all the functionality to perform such operation safely. It is however very important to double check each step before manipulation the target controller. In case of wrong operation, target could be dropped, possibly on silicon detector. Operation of the target controller is difficult because there is now way to check the target status visually, therefore target change should be kept to a minimum during run time, and physics output such as elastic scattering monitored after each change.

Jacques Cacitti made for us a Target Controller Manual pdf summarising operation, make sure to practice with the chamber open before doing it during a shift, chamber close.