A fast and sensitive resonant Schottky pick-up for heavy ion storage rings

A resonant pick-up for the detection of heavy ion Schottky noise was built into the ESR storage ring at GSI. A similar device will be installed at the cooler storage ring CSRe at IMP. Its purpose is a significant enhancement of the signal to noise ratio of Schottky spectra. A particular application of the new system is the measurement of circulating single ions. The resonator is based on a pillbox design. It is operated at air pressure, and is electromagnetically coupled to the vacuum tube of the storage ring via a cylinder-shaped ceramic gap. The resonant frequency can be changed by inserting plunger pistons. The resonator can easily be decoupled from the storage ring, if high beam impedances become a problem. The article describes the construction, electromagnetic properties of the pick-up as well as first experiments with heavy ion beams.