Beam Loss Ion Chamber System Upgrade for Experimental Halls

The Beam loss Ion Chamber System (BLICS) was developed to protect Jefferson Labs transport lines, targets and beam dumps from a catastrophic "burn through." Range changes and testing was accomplished manually requiring the experiment to be shut down. The new upgraded system is based around an "off the shelf" Programmable Logic Controller located in a single control box supporting up to ten individual detectors. All functions that formerly required an entry into the experimental hall and manual adjustment can be accomplished from the Machine Control Center (MCC). A further innovation was the addition of a High Voltage "Brick" at the detector location. A single cable supplies the required voltage for the Brick and a return line for the ion chamber signal. The read back screens display range, trip point, and accumulated dose for each location. The new system is very cost effective and significantly reduces the amount of lost experimental time.