A prototype ionization profile monitor for RHIC

Transverse beam profiles in the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) will be measured with ionization profile monitors (IPMs). Each IPM collects and measures the distribution of electrons in the beamline resulting from residual gas ionization during bunch passage. The electrons are swept transversely from the beamline and collected on strip anodes oriented parallel to the beam axis. At each bunch passage the charge pulses are amplified, integrated, and digitized for display as a profile histogram. A prototype detector was tested in the injection line during the RHIC Sextant Test. This paper describes the detector and gives results from the beam tests.