In March, the FRIB staff cooled the first of four superconducting dipole magnets for folding segment 2 (FS2D3) to 4 kelvin (K) in three days. Staff then successfully energized the magnet to its full field of 2 tesla (T).

The D3 magnets are the only freestanding, superconducting magnets used in the linear accelerator tunnel. The magnets weigh 54,000 pounds each, and are used to steer the beam through the hair-pin turn between linac segments 2 and 3. There are superconducting solenoid magnets, which are used to maintain the focus of the beam, in all of the accelerating cryomodules.

More than 240 magnets of various types will focus and steer the beam as it moves through FRIB’s linear accelerator.