The Positron-Electron Project II (PEP-II) B Factory collider ended the final phase of operation at nearly twice the design current and 4X the design luminosity. In the ultimate operation state, eight 1.2 MW radio-frequency (rf) klystrons and 12 accelerating cavities were added beyond the original implementation, and the two storage rings were operating with longitudinal instability growth rates roughly 5X in excess of the original design estimates. From initial commissioning there has been continual adaptation of the low level rf (LLRF) control strategies, configuration tools, and some new hardware in response to unanticipated technical challenges. This paper offers a perspective on the original LLRF and longitudinal instability control design, and highlights via two examples the system evolution from the original design estimates through to the final machine with $1.2\times {10}^{34}$ luminosity. The impact of unanticipated signals in the coupled-bunch longitudinal feedback and the significance of nonlinear processing elements in the LLRF systems are presented. We present valuable “lessons learned” which are of interest to designers of next generation feedback and impedance controlled LLRF systems.

• Received 14 November 2008
• Corrected 30 June 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.13.052802

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