High Field Q-slope and Superconducting Radio Frequency Cavity Testing

High field Q-slope is a loss mechanism frequently encountered by superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. The goal of this experiment was to identify correlations between cavity surface impurities, caused by either nitrogen gas or a thin layer of oxidized niobium, and high field Q-slope. Unfortunately, due to an unpredictable series of complications, cavity test results were not obtained in time to be included in this paper. Instead, this paper discusses many of the details and difficulties related to cavity testing that should be helpful to anyone who decides to pursue this project in the future.