Getting Started & Course Orientation
Welcome! If you are considering or planning to take the Research Lab Course as part of your Master’s program, this page provides all the essential information about the course structure, expectations, and how to gain access.
Note: Reading this page does not commit or enroll you in the practical lab sessions. It is designed purely to help you orient yourself and plan your semester.
What is the Research Lab Course?
This course is designed as a research-oriented practical lab that bridges the gap between your theoretical lectures and real-world implementation. It focuses on the core pillars of modern accelerator development and is divided into three consecutive levels:
- Level D – Vacuum and Plasma Physics:
- Experiment 1: Mass Spectrometry & Vacuum Technology (including thermal bake-out)
- Experiment 2: Plasma Diagnostics on RF-Generated Plasmas (Langmuir probe techniques)
- Level E – Charged Particle Beam Optics:
- Experiment 3: Magnetic Multipoles (field mapping of dipoles and quadrupoles)
- Level F – RF-Technology and Accelerator Cavities:
- Experiment 4: Vector Network Analyzer (characterization of directional couplers and amplifiers)
- Experiment 5: Coaxial Resonators (fundamentals of standing waves)
- Experiment 6: Cavity Resonators (the core of modern linear accelerators)
- Experiment 7: Perturbation Measurements (field mapping via the Slater method)
Every experiment uniquely combines hands-on hardware work in the laboratory with advanced numerical simulations (using CST Studio Suite and Python) performed directly on our dedicated lab workstations.
Time Commitment and "Guided Flexibility"
To accommodate students traveling between Darmstadt, Frankfurt, and Mainz, we do not follow a rigid daily schedule. Instead, we use a flexible three-slot model:
- Estimated Time per Lab Session: 4 to 5 hours.
- Available Days: Monday is our default lab day. However, two additional fixed alternative slots are available later in the week.
- Self-Scheduling: Once fully enrolled, your lab group will be able to book these slots dynamically via the learning platform (OLAT) based on your weekly travel and lecture schedule.
Prerequisites & Preparation
You do not need to be an expert in programming or simulation software before you start this course. However, a thorough preparation before each lab session is mandatory to ensure a smooth and productive workflow:
- Study the Lab Manual: Before entering the laboratory, you must thoroughly read the experiment's manual (provided on OLAT).
- Develop an Expected Value: Based on the theoretical background in the manual, you are expected to calculate or derive analytical expectations and a solid understanding of the physical phenomena before your lab day.
- In the Lab: On your scheduled day, you will first implement and refine your numerical models (using Python or CST Studio Suite) directly on our lab workstations. Afterward, you will immediately test your simulation results against the real hardware and evaluate your measurement data on the spot.
Ready to Join? How to Access the Lab Material
If you have decided to take the course, or if you want to look at the detailed lab scripts, timelines, and software templates, you need to log into the central learning platform OLAT.
Step-by-step access procedure:
- Log in to OLAT: Go to the central OLAT platform of Goethe University Frankfurt (GUF) and search for the course name: "RMU - Research Lab Course". (Students from TU Darmstadt and JGU Mainz can use the guest/federated login option with their home accounts).
- Join a Two-Person Group: We expect 16 students this semester and have pre-created exactly 8 laboratory groups (two students per group). Please register yourself into one of these available slots.
- Subscribe to the Lab Calendar: A dedicated course calendar has been integrated into the OLAT page. It already contains all the default lab dates. You are required to subscribe to this calendar to keep track of the schedule.
- Alternative Slots: The default dates in the calendar are your primary schedule. If a group has a major time conflict and requires flexibility, the lab assistant will open and insert alternative slots into the calendar as needed.
Do you have any further questions?
If you have additional questions and remarks about the course organization, prerequisites, or special circumstances before enrolling, please feel free to contact me directly. You can find the contact details and office hours via the Goethe University Directory (GUF-QIS).
We look forward to welcoming you to the lab and working with you on the frontiers of accelerator technology!