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Development of the RFQ linac for industrial radiation measurements

Conference · · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)
OSTI ID:6454065
; ;  [1]
  1. AccSys Technology, Inc., Pleasanton, CA (United States)
The radio-frequency (rf) quadrupole (RFQ) linear accelerator (linac) is a revolutionary rf accelerating device that has made the use of compact high-current ion beam accelerators practical during the past decade. The uniqueness of the RFQ linac is its ability to simultaneously bunch, focus, and accelerate high-current, low-energy ion beams. A sophisticated design and fabrication procedure is used to obtain a precise three-dimensional electric field distribution that achieves these results at moderate electrode voltages and beam injection energy. There are no large magnets and no critical adjustments required to focus or contain the ion beam; only one parameter, rf input power, is adjusted to operate the device. These features, combined with the rigid mechanical design of the RFQ structure, make it a highly reliable, easy-to-operate accelerator. This unique accelerator has proven to be capable of accelerating high-current ion beams to mega-electron-volt energies in structures only 0.5 to 3 m long. Proton and deuteron beams from RFQ linacs are being used for the production of neutrons and gamma rays for many industrial radiation measurements.
OSTI ID:
6454065
Report Number(s):
CONF-920919--
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Journal Volume: 65:1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English