Real time cavity simulator for European XFEL

Abstract

For the Low level Radio Frequency system in European XFEL project the real time RF cavity simulator is being built to simulate one RF station. The functional requirements of the project include the simulation of multiple superconducting cavities with various features such as mechanical and fundamental modes, waveguide distribution system and high power system (klystron and amplifiers). The time response of such device for LLRF driving signal must be similar to the real time response of the chain of all simulated elements which is less than 1 mus. In order to fulfill both, functional and performance requirements a dedicated hardware has to be designed, as well as robust simulation models. The paper presents a concept and requirements for the proposed system. Possible hardware architectures are discussed. Initial development and results are presented.