We report on updates to the accelerator controls for the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment II, a pulsed induction-type accelerator for heavy ions. The control infrastructure is built around a LabVIEW interface combined with an Apache Cassandra
backend for data archiving. Recent upgrades added the storing and retrieving of device settings into the database, as well as ZeroMQ as a message broker that replaces LabVIEWs shared variables. Converting to ZeroMQ also allows easy access via other programming languages, such as Python.
Gaining in-situ access to relaxation dynamics of radiation induced defects will lead to a better understanding of materials and is important for the verification of theoretical models and simulations. We show preliminary results from experiments at t
he new Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX-II) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that will enable in-situ access to defect dynamics through pump-probe experiments. Here, the unique capabilities of the NDCX-II accelerator to generate intense, nanosecond pulsed ion beams are utilized. Preliminary data of channeling experiments using lithium and potassium ions and silicon membranes are shown. We compare these data to simulation results using Crystal Trim. Furthermore, we discuss the improvements to the accelerator to higher performance levels and the new diagnostics tools that are being incorporated.
