D-Pace Provides H⁻ Volume Cusp Ion Source Solution for Fermilab’s PIP-II Upgrade
A. GEORGE ISV.F-40
Challenge
Fermilab required a reliable H⁻ ion source solution to support its Proton Improvement Plan-II, or PIP-II, a major accelerator upgrade to the U.S. Department of Energy’s flagship LINAC complex. PIP-II will power the world’s most intense high-energy neutrino beam for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE, sending neutrinos over a 1,300-kilometre path from Illinois to South Dakota.
For a mission-critical accelerator upgrade of this scale, Fermilab needed an ion source capable of delivering stable, high-quality H⁻ beam performance while meeting demanding expectations for reliability, ease of operation, and maintainability. The source was required to meet stringent specifications for beam current, beam quality, and beam current stability.
Approach
D-Pace delivered its TRIUMF-licensed H⁻ Volume Cusp Ion Source as a production-ready ion source solution for Fermilab’s PIP-II program. The solution builds on D-Pace’s established volume cusp ion source technology, which Fermilab first adopted in 2011 for Project X. That earlier source was initially tested at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and later installed at Fermilab in 2013.
This long-term operating history gave Fermilab a strong technical source to work with D-Pace’s H⁻ Volume Cusp Ion Source technology for the next stage of its accelerator program. In previous Fermilab operational campaigns, the D-Pace source demonstrated filament lifespans ranging from 391 hours to 840 hours before failure, exceeding Fermilab’s 350-hour filament lifetime requirement.
As part of the current PIP-II delivery, D-Pace hosted Fermilab representatives at its facility in Nelson, British Columbia, for Beam Acceptance Testing. The acceptance testing confirmed that the delivered H⁻ ion source met Fermilab’s technical and operational requirements. The source demonstrated strong performance, operational stability, straightforward handling, and low maintenance requirements. Fermilab concluded that the D-Pace H⁻ Volume Cusp Ion Source fulfilled all of its requirements.
Result
The D-Pace H⁻ Volume Cusp Ion Source successfully passed Beam Acceptance Testing for Fermilab’s PIP-II accelerator upgrade, meeting or exceeding the required specifications for beam current, beam quality, and beam current stability. The source extracted 15 mA DC at 30 keV kinetic energy, achieved transverse emittance below 0.2 mm·mrad, and demonstrated beam current stability better than 1%.
The successful testing confirms the performance and reliability required for PIP-II’s long-term mission. This second ion source purchase supports PIP-II operations and reinforces D-Pace ability to deliver field-proven ion source technology for demanding national laboratory applications.
D-Pace is honored to contribute to Fermilab’s mission and proud that our technology plays a role in advancing global scientific frontiers.
