Electron Accelerators
High power continuous wave linear accelerators
Fig 3a: One-section schematic
Fig 3b: One-section photo
We have designed a family of compact and modular Continuous Wave LINear Accelerators for electron-based industrial, medical, and environmental irradiation applications. Our CW LINAC family consists of ten accelerators each with beam currents of 50 mA and energies ranging from 0.6 to 6 MeV in increments of 600 keV with corresponding beam power of 30 to 300 kW. We have realized two of these accelerators in operational prototypes whose parameters are listed in the table below. Our one-section CW LINAC shown in Fig. 3 provided a 600 keV/50 mA/30 kW exit beam at a 98 mA gun current, thus demonstrating a 50% capture efficiency. It includes the 15 keV DC electron gun joined directly to the first AS cell and simple reliable Radio Frequency (RF) system with common gun-klystron power supply.
Fig 4a: Two-section schematic
Fig 4b: Two-section photo
Our two-section CW LINAC seen in Fig. 4 consists of one-section CW LINAC, beam line between first and second AS, and second AS which accelerates the 50 mA beam up to the energy 1.2 MeV.
CW LINAC parameters
| Parameter | One-Section | Two-Section |
|---|---|---|
| Beam energy | 0.6 MeV | 1.2 MeV |
| Beam current | 0 to 50 mA | 0 to 50 mA |
| Maximum beam power | 30 kW | 60 kW |
| Length | 0.8 m | 1.3 m |
| Gun/klystron high voltage | 15 kV | 15 kV |
| Plug power consumption | ~75 kW | ~150 kW |
| Electrical efficiency | ~40% | ~40% |