Non Destructive Beam Monitor Prototype

In order to produce astatine-211, a promising new therapeutic for cancer, a large amount of accelerated helium ions are impinged on a bismuth target. Measuring relatively low-intensity particle beam current without interfering or modifying the beam is difficult. Development of such a device has been enabled by construction of a desktop prototype. The nondestructive prototype beam monitor simulates a method by which the current of a beam can be measured without destroying or obstructing the current. For offline development, a copper rod is centered in a desktop prototype of a beam pipe a section of the beam pipe contains the copper coil, in which an induced current is formed. This induced current, which is initially alternating is rectified and amplified using a circuit designed for this purpose. The current is then read using a picoammeter and compared to the current passed through the central copper rod. The output reading for the user is adjusted to match the current in the copper rod and displayed on a graphical user interface. Using this method, the current in the copper coil can be determined without directly measuring the current. This prototype can then be expanded to a beam pipe where the current of a beam can be measured using the induced current around it. This is especially useful when trying to monitor the beam's current without interfering with or modifying it in facilities that irradiate targets to produce medically relevant radioisotopes. Prototype improvements and performance will be shown.