508.58 MHz synchronous universal counter for beam control system of SPring-8

A synchronous universal counter was developed for beam handling and monitor ing in SPring-8. It works at 508.58 MHz radio frequency and has a 30-bit wi dth. Its two main features are a dividing function with an arbitrary positi ve integer and a digital delay function with a time interval over 2 s. The counter numbers all of the RF buckets of the SPring-8 storage ring from 0 t o 2435. Successful installation of the counter and a signal transmission sy stem with a low time jitters provided precise beam injection into a targete d RF bucket and furthermore into the RF buckets previously filled for addit ion. As an application, it can be used as a programmable digital delay modu le to give a reference timing for synchrotron light experiments. It can be adopted in most accelerators operated throughout the world-to achieve easy beam injection. The design, performance and applications of the counter and a precise signal transmission system are described. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.