High Voltage Generation for a Cryogenic Neutron Electric Dipole Experiment

An in-situ voltage multiplier was designed to generate a static electric field in superfluid helium-4 at 400 mK for an experiment to search for the neutron electric dipole moment. The voltage required on a central electrode is about 650 kV. Direct supply of such a voltage from a room temperature power supply into the sub-1 Kelvin environment would be very difficult in terms of cryogenic compatibility, so this experiment aims to use concepts from 18th century Cavallo's Multiplier to amplify a moderate supply voltage up to a sufficient level. In this talk, results from testing this apparatus at room-temperature, prior to its installation in a cryostat for low temperature testing, will be presented.