Low-energetic ion and antimatter beams are very attractive for a number of fundamental studies. The diagnostics of such beams, however, is a challenge due to low currents down to only a few thousands of particles per second and significant fraction of energy loss in matter at keV beam energies. A modular set of particle detectors has been developed to suit the particular beam diagnostic needs of the ultralow-energy storage ring (USR) at the future facility for low-energy antiproton and ion research, accommodating very low beam intensities at energies down to 20 keV. The detectors include beam-profile monitors based on scintillating screens and secondary electron emission, sensitive Faraday cups for absolute intensity measurements, and capacitive pickups for beam position monitoring. In this paper, the design of all detectors is presented in detail and results from beam measurements are shown. The resolution limits of all detectors are described and options for further improvement summarized. Whilst initially developed for the USR, the instrumentation described in this paper is also well suited for use in other low-intensity, low-energy accelerators, storage rings, and beam lines.

• Received 23 July 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.15.122801

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Published by the American Physical Society