Dramatically reducing beam losses at BNL 200 MeV H- linac

The Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) 200 MeV drift tube linac (DTL) delivers H- beam at 6.67 Hz and 200 MeV to both the polarized proton program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Brookhaven Linac Isotope Production (BLIP) facility. Through a series of upgrades, particularly in the last two decades, the linac's performance has significantly improved. Reconfigurations of the low-energy and medium-energy beam transport systems have been key contributors to this progress. Key improvement include: A 50% increase in transmission for high-peak-current isotope production, a 50% reduction in transverse emittance and A dramatic three-order-of-magnitude reduction in beam loss. These upgrades and has significantly enhanced the overall performance and efficiency of the BNL 200 MeV linac.