Commissioning of the Cavity BPM for the FERMI@Elettra FEL Project

The cavity Beam Position Monitor (BPM) is a fundamental beam diagnostic device that allows the measurements of the electron beam trajectory in a non-destructively way and with sub-micron resolution. Ten cavity BPM systems have been installed along the undulators chain in the FERMI@Elettra FEL1 project. In this paper we discuss the installation, commissioning and performance of these cavity BPM systems. We have carried out preliminary operations during a pre-beam period, such as the alignment and fine tuning of the RF cavities under vacuum. During the commissioning each BPM has been calibrated by mechanically moving the support on which the BPM is mounted. We have estimated the single shot resolution in presence of beam jitter by reading the beam position synchronously over many electron bunches from three or more BPMs. The algorithms have been subsequently improved, and the results are described.