UniBEaM: A silica fiber monitor for charged particle beams

A beam monitoring detection technique based on silica fibers has been developed by AEC-LHEP. The light signal produced in a doped silica fiber crossing the beam is collected to measure the beam profile. Two types of detectors have been constructed and tested. The first one operates in vacuum and was tested at the 18 MeV medical proton cyclotron at the University Hospital in Bern. It is able to measure currents form a few pA to 20 µA. It can be employed to optimize the production of radioisotopes, in particular using solid targets. The second one operates in air and was tested with high-energy pion and proton beams at the CERF facility at CERN. This paper reports on both detectors with focus on the most recent results obtained with the second detector.