Date: 25/01/2010

CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) now uses Kyocera's ceramic vacuum chamber

Kyocera has announced that its custom-designed ceramic vacuum chambers are being used in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operated by the European Organisation for Nuclear Physics (CERN) near Geneva.

The chambers are made of fine ceramic because metal would produce a time lag in the magnetic fields that drive the protons. Kyocera's chambers maintain the vacuum state present in the whole LHC system to keep the racing particles from hitting air molecules, which reduce the protons' speed or alter their precisely controlled direction.

Protons fed into the LHC through Kyocera's ceramic vacuum chambers quickly reach speeds of up to 299,792 km per second. When necessary, protons can also be removed from the LHC by alternating magnetic fields for example, when the LHC is to be shut down.

"As a specialist in fine ceramics, Kyocera custom-developed these vacuum chambers in close collaboration with CERN for the LHC's unique requirements," said Mitsuru Imanaka, president of Kyocera's European operations.

Kyocera was the only company in a position to meet CERN's exacting specifications for the vacuum chambers. "The technical demands of making a fine ceramic component increase in direct proportion to its size and shape," Imanaka explained. "These vacuum chambers exceed one meter in length, requiring us to maintain a uniform, homogenous structure over a large area. Kyocera's material and processing expertise have allowed us to produce fine ceramic components to overcome technical challenges at CERN and in many other industrial and research applications."