Steering Beam of Charged Particles Using Silicon Crystals

Two experiments on the deflection of electron and proton beams using silicon crystals were performed to study the channeling effect. An experiment on deflection of a 150-MeV electron beam by a crystal with the thickness of 16 mu m was conducted at the REFER ring (Relativistic Electron Facility for Education and Research, Hiroshima University). The maximum deflection angle of 0.2 mrad was achieved. A 12-GeV proton beam was deflected by an 1-cm long crystal, which was bent at an angle of 32.6 mrad, at the KEK Proton Synchrotron. Results of these experiments are presented in this article. As for application, a possibility to create a deflection system for the J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Complex) and a collimator for the ILC (International Linear Collider) are discussed as well.