Performance assessment of the new remote power supply controller for the Elettra Storage Ring magnets

Among the wide range of applications that power supplies are able to cover, the Particle Accelerator based Light Sources are one of the most demanding. In the specific case of the Elettra Storage Ring, a Synchrotron Radiation Facility operating since 1993, magnet power supplies with other critical devices are determining the quality of the photon beams and overall accelerator uptime. Because of that, they have to provide stable, reliable, precise and remotely controlled operation. From a strictly functional perspective, each magnet power supply can be seen as a power part, regulating the output current, and a control part to connect the unit to the remote control system. The original Elettra magnet power supplies are still reliably in operation but their control parts, based on VME boards and MIL 1553 interfaces, need an update to cope with ageing, components obsolescence and servicing. This paper presents the laboratory and on-field performance of the NewPSC (New Power Supply Controller), the board designed at Elettra to replace the VME-based power supplies control systems in the Storage Ring.