Microprocessor Control and Data Acquisition at the LLNL 100 MeV Accelerator

A distributed microprocessor control and data acquisition network has been designed for implementation on the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 100 MeV electron/positron accelerator (LINAC). The system has been designed to be as transparent to the user as possible by stressing responsiveness, reliability, and relevance of data presented to the user. Implementation of the network will take place in modular fashion in three stages, so as to minimize disruption of normal operations. The first elements to be installed will be the beam transport system controls, beam position monitors, and accelerator operating status monitors. These units will reduce beam set-up time. Beam diagnostic equipment is now being designed that will be used in a second stage implementation. This stage will concentrate on determining beam parameters and allowing the user to optimize the beam for a given parameter. The final stage will be to install experimenter data acquisition equipment. The equipment will augment the presently existing data acquisition system. The completed network will allow a more efficient operation of the LINAC, resulting in reduced experiment costs, and more controllable beam parameters, both of which are major concerns of experimenters.