Machine protection strategies for high power accelerators

The Machine Protection System Requirements for a number of accelerators have been reviewed. The specific requirements vary depending on the type of machine, beam power, pulse length, etc. Some system concepts are common to a number of accelerators and these systems will be discussed. The Machine Protection System (MPS) must protect beam apertures and insertable devices from damage, minimize radiation produced by the beam (ALARA) for hands on maintenance, and shut down the beam when beam-on-target parameters drift outside specifications. MPS systems should be used as an Accelerator diagnostic. MPS can trigger data acquisition when a fault occurs, and start post mortem applications automatically. Tight integration with timing and other systems allows automatic recovery from beam faults.