The European Spallation Source (ESS) is in the final stages of commissioning its linear accelerator (linac), which will deliver a high-power proton beam for neutron production. The commissioning process involves progressive testing of subsystems, including the ion source, radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ), and superconducting cavities, to ensure stable and reliable beam operation. Key challenges include beam dynamics optimization, machine protection, and high-power RF system integration. Within this presentation an overview of the commissioning status, key milestones achieved, and expectations for the first beam on target, marking a significant step toward full facility operation could be given.

High precision Low-level RF (LLRF) control and monitoring systems for future particle accelerators will be a significant technical challenge as the requirements in performance, flexibility and affordability become increasingly stringent. We have developed an RF system-on-chip (RFSoC) based next generation LLRF (NG-LLRF) for S-band accelerating structures, which samples and synthesizes the RF pulses directly without the analog mixers used for traditional LLRF systems. The platform delivered considerably better performance than the requirements of the targeted applications, such as the upgrades for Next Linear Collider Test Accelerator (NLCTA) and test facilities at SLAC. As part of the upgrade program, we also developed a custom solid-state amplifier (SSA) to deliver RF pulses at desired power level of the klystron. The integration of the LLRF with SSA and the high-power test facility could be challenging. The power levels and RF pulse stability at each stage of the high-power RF drive system need to be optimized to deliver the desired RF performance. In this paper, the integration procedure and the test and characterization results at each stage of integration will be summarized, analyzed and discussed. This integration is an essential step for the full deployment of the NG-LLRF system to the test facilities and accelerators in different frequency bands.

In charged particle therapy, high energy layer switching times prolong beam delivery time, limiting treatment efficiency and accuracy. The TURBO (Technology for Ultra-Rapid Beam Operation) project aims to build a low-energy (0.5-3 MeV) demonstrator beamline for proton therapy with a large momentum acceptance (±42%), enabling rapid delivery over the full clinical energy range, alleviating this bottleneck. Novel beam diagnostic instrumentation is required to monitor key parameters of the beamline constructed for the University of Melbourne’s Pelletron accelerator, which operates at low energies and high current densities. We develop a pepper-pot mask-based method to measure beam phase space distribution and quantify the emittance, and a multi-layer Faraday cup (MLFC) to measure energy distribution. This work now enables the completion of the beam shaping section, and integration of a fixed-field, closed-dispersion beam transport section, key next steps toward assessing TURBO’s potential to shorten beam delivery times.

DC Current Transformers (DCCTs) are essential instruments for non-interceptive beam current measurement in particle accelerators. The zero-flux modulation principle demands exceptional symmetry between paired magnetic cores to achieve sub-$\mu$A offset stability. Conventional core matching based on static magnetic parameters provides only an engineering approximation, as it neglects the dynamic magnetization behavior under AC modulation. This paper presents a novel approach employing unsupervised machine learning techniques applied to 6 dynamic magnetic parameters ($\mu_\mathbf{a}$, $\delta$, $B_\mathbf{r}$, $B_\mathbf{m}$, $H_\mathbf{c}$, $H_\mathbf{m}$) measured at 50 kHz sinusoidal excitation for 19 Fe-based nanocrystalline cores. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduces the feature space while preserving $89.64\%$ of total variance. An adaptive multi-objective K-Means strategy successfully isolates anomalous specimens ($K=2$), while a density-based evaluation framework partitions the remaining operational cores into 5 highly homogeneous sub-groups. This two-tier matching scheme enables a physically rigorous core pairing that accounts for real-world dynamic magnetization and domain wall losses under actual DCCT operating conditions.

Accurate calibration of NMR probes is essential for high-quality magnetic-field measurements. Within the PNRR IRIS project, the Magnetic Measurement Facility (MMF) at LNF-INFN has implemented a new dedicated calibration system designed and manufactured by CAYLAR. The setup includes a 2.23 T dipole magnet with a 35 mm gap, a 1ppm four-quadrant power supply for low-field operation, and three NMR probes with associated electronics, covering the 200 G to 2.2 T range. The probes are mounted on a dedicated holder positioned in a highly uniform field region, ensuring that all sensors experience the same magnetic environment. Achieving excellent homogeneity over a large volume and wide field range was a key challenge; this was addressed through a genetic-algorithm-optimized magnet design complemented by active shimming coils. This contribution presents the system’s design, construction, and factory acceptance tests, along with the first calibration results obtained at MMF. Future improvements include thermostating the probe holder, potentially using cryogenic liquids, to extend the temperature range for calibrations, an important capability for probes used in superconducting magnets.

The Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee) is a next-generation electron-positron collider under design at CERN to advance particle physics beyond the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) era. This 91 km circumference accelerator, located at a depth of about 200 m underground, raises significant challenges for the alignment of its components. Thousands of elements must be positioned within a few tens of micrometers relative to each other to ensure optimal machine performance. To achieve this, a first-order alignment network, transferred from surface references, must be established along the entire length of the tunnel. This network will provide the basis for tracing, installation and absolute alignment of components prior to the relative alignment phase. A dedicated simulation tool has been developed to model the FCC-ee tunnel, including shafts and bypasses. Different network configurations can be generated to simulate polar, gyroscopic, and levelling measurements. This paper presents the methodology used to build these simulations and studies the resulting error propagation and expected precision for each measurement configuration.

ESS-Bilbao, JCNS, and LLB joined forces to develop Europe’s first HICANS  Platform (HiCANS stands for "High Current Accelerator-driven Neutron Source"). This project aims to integrate the high current proton accelerator system, currently under construction at ESS Bilbao, with the target-moderator-reflector unit that has been successfully built and operated at Forschungszentrum Jülich, and the HERMES reflectometer and Be target owned by LLB. This facility intends to validate and demonstrate the technological developments that will take part of these medium-flux neutron sources.  In this demonstrator, the first stage of the ARGITU source will be used to produce a pulsed proton beam with an energy of 3 MeV and a period of 30 Hz to hit a Lithium target, generating neutrons that are moderated at the desired thermal and cold energy ranges that will be utilized by the HERMES neutron reflectometer.  The instrument has undergone upgrades and improvements, since it was first installed in the COSY platform, such as the installation of a methane moderator, which has increased the reflectivity signal by a factor of two. The installation of the instrument in ESS-Bilbao premises will help to continue its experimental program, as well as paving the way to future integration of neutron scattering and imaging instruments at higher accelerator power.

Segment-by-Segment (SbS) analysis is employed in accelerators for the determination of lattice errors and corrections, by identifying deviations between optics functions propagated through a modelled lattice segment and measured values. For the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), this method is routinely used during optics commissioning for the compensation of strong local errors in the experimental insertions and arcs. Beyond the determination of corrections however, the SbS approach is also of interest to propagate optics functions measured at the BPMs, to key instrumentation in other locations in the ring, for example to improve emittance measurements by providing more accurate estimates of the optics functions at relevant devices. The SbS tools used in the LHC have been further developed to support the propagation of measurement to lattice target locations distinct from the BPMs, leading to new possible applications. In this paper the analysis methods and results from recent LHC commissioning are presented.

Accurate Beam-Position Monitor (BPM) calibration is essential for high-quality optics measurements and reliable beam-based diagnostics in the Large Hadron Collider. Recent in-depth analyses combining advanced optics-measurement techniques, including measurements of a novel $60^{\circ}$ optics, with cross-checks from complementary beam instrumentation have revealed the presence of a previously unnoticed systematic calibration bias of approximately 3\,\% in arc BPMs. This correction has been implemented at the start of 2025, leading to improved consistency. Despite these improvements, not all aspects of the discrepancy have yet been fully understood. This contribution presents the investigations that enabled the identification of the bias, open questions, and implications for future operation.

Current research in quantum, nano, and energy materials requires information about material structure on the atomic scale in space and time. These materials show a variety of ultra-fast phenomena such as light absorption, structural changes, phase transitions, thermal or non-thermal melting, all of which happen on the ps or sub-ps scale and involve position changes on the Ångström scale. In this contribution we present the conceptual design for the RI-Bornite instrument, which allows ultra-fast electron diffraction using Mega-electron-volt electron beams (MeV-UED). For this instrument we use a warm (copper) 2.5-cell RF-photogun with a replaceable Cu photocathode. A single Ti:Sa fs-laser system drives both the pump beam (266 nm, ca. 1 µJ) and the probe beam (800 nm, several mJ/pulse). The system is designed to reliably reach 100 fs temporal resolution. The current sample chamber is optimized for solid-state samples and includes the option for sample cooling and a load-lock. Future versions shall allow experiments on liquid or gaseous samples. We present the main design considerations, electron beam dynamics simulations, and the engineering design.