Digital camera performance in a high-radiation accelerator test beam facility

Digital cameras are critical diagnostics at test beam facilities. At FACET-II, there are over 100 digital cameras in operation. The 10 GeV electron beams cause high levels of radiation, which makes profile monitors susceptible to two types of failures: single-event upsets (SEU) and permanent death. The Camera Watchdog software was deployed to monitor and automatically power cycle cameras in the case of an SEU. The Camera Watchdog also updates the total number of reboots executed for each camera. Additionally, digital radiation monitors (RADFETs) have been installed at the locations of 10 cameras. We report on the findings from the study and discuss how they can be used to mitigate radiation damage to digital cameras.