Commissioning of the vacuum system of the KATRIN Main Spectrometer

Understand

The KATRIN experiment will probe the neutrino mass by measuring the beta-electron energy spectrum near the endpoint of tritium beta-decay.

• An integral energy analysis will be performed by an electro-static spectrometer (Main Spectrometer), an ultra-high vacuum vessel with a length of 23.2 m, a volume of 1240 m^3, and a complex inner electrode system with about 120000 individual parts.
• The strong magnetic field that guides the beta-electrons is provided by super-conducting solenoids at both ends of the spectrometer.
• Its influence on turbo-molecular pumps and vacuum gauges had to be considered.