In December 2018, FRIB completed testing of its thermal-imaging system for the primary beam.

The system will monitor the heat signature of the area where the beam hits the target to create rare isotopes. The target is made of rotating carbon disk. The incoming beam will concentrate on the target within a 1-millimeter (mm) diameter spot. Rare isotopes for experiments will be produced when the primary beam from the accelerator hits the target.

The thermal-imaging system transfers the heat signature to an image using a system of high-precision mirrors, which is digitized by a camera.