The RAL Front End Test Stand

High power proton accelerators (HPPAs) with beam powers in the megawatt range have many possible applications including drivers for spallation neutron sources, neutrino factories, waste transmuters and tritium production facilities. These applications typically propose beam powers of 5 MW or more compared to the highest beam power achieved from a pulsed proton accelerator in routine operation of 0.16 MW at ISIS. The UK's commitment to the development of the next generation of HPPAs is demonstrated by a test stand being constructed in collaboration between RAL, Imperial College London and the University of Warwick. The aim of the RAL Front End Test Stand is to demonstrate that chopped low energy beams of high quality can be produced and is intended to allow generic experiments exploring a variety of operational regimes. This paper describes the status of the RAL Front End Test Stand which consists of five main components: a 60 mA H- ion source, a low energy beam transport, a 324 MHz Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator, a high speed beam chopper and a comprehensive suite of diagnostics. The aim is to demonstrate production of a 60 mA, 2 ms, 50 pps, chopped H- beam at 3 MeV