SNS target imaging system software and analysis

A new Target Imaging System (TIS) has been installed to directly measure the size and position of the proton beam on the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) mercury target. The proton beam, hitting a luminescent coating on the target nose, produces light that is transferred using a radiation-tolerant optical system to an image acquisition system integrated with the accelerator controls network. This paper describes the software that acquires and analyzes the image, how the system has been integrated with the SNS control system, and compares the TIS results with the indirect methods of calculating the peak densities of the proton beam.