Vibrating Wire for Profile Measurements of Thin Beams in Particle Accelerators: Preliminary Tests Using a Laser Beam

The possibility of using a vibrating wire as a target in the method of scanning transverse profiles of the thin beams in particle accelerators has been studied. In the case where the transverse dimensions of the beam are comparable to the amplitude of the wire oscillations, the vibrating wire can be used for a fast measurement of the transverse beam profile without moving the sensor. The scanning procedure is replaced by the use of the movement of the wire during its mechanical oscillations. The method is tested on a focused beam of a semiconductor laser with a spot size at the focus of ～0.1 mm. The reconstruction of the transverse profile is performed on the basis of the measurements of the photons reflected from the vibrating wire by using fast photodiodes.