Vacuum arcs and thermal breakdown are phenomena which limit the performance of normal and superconducting accelerator cavities. Both processes closely depend on electron field emission, which is consider a precursor for both effects. These processes are still not fully understood, but we know that they depend on the physical properties of the surfaces of the used materials. The materials used for cavity manufacturing have not been fully characterize in the past with respect to cryogenic temperatures. At the same time theoretical models are repeatedly used in the whole range of temperatures and fields, but were never verified there. In order to test theories and advance our understanding new data obtained at low temperature are needed.
Although radio-frequency cavity tests are the most direct way to explore vacuum arcs for accelerator applications, accelerating cavity testing is time-consuming and costly. Vacuum arcs and field emission can be generated cost-efficiently and in a controlled manner in direct current (DC) setups.
In this talk I will report on the construction and commissioning of the first DC setup where temperature can be controlled through a wide range, from room temperatures all the way down to 4 K. First experiments with a pair of parallel plate OFE-copper electrodes were performed and the preliminary results will be presented.
