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Powerful Triaxial Klystron for X-Band and Beyond--Mission Research Corporation, 735 State Street, P.O. Drawer 719, Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 805-963-8761
Dr. John A. Pasour, Principal Investigator
Mr. Scot R. Fries, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-98ER82621
Amount: $600,000
The next generation of particle colliders will require an enormous amount of microwave power -- on the order of one trillion watts total -- at a radio frequency at least four times higher than used in existing accelerators. Using scaled versions of existing klystrons to drive such an accelerator will require almost 10,000 individual tubes at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. Also these klystrons are not well suited for operation at the even higher frequencies envisioned for such future generations of accelerators. This project will develop a new microwave source, the triaxial klystron amplifier (TKA), that uses a large-diameter annular electron beam propagating between two coaxial structures. The TKA promises to deliver an order of magnitude higher power and much higher frequency than possible with scaled klystrons while achieving the high efficiency, phase stability, reliability, and repetitive operation capability required. In Phase I, the overall cavity structure was designed and computer simulations of the beam interaction with the structure were performed to maximize the microwave power. Engineering issues, such as repetitive electron beam generation and output coupling of the microwave power, were analyzed. In Phase II, a prototype TKA will be fabricated and tested. Experiments to optimize efficiency and fully characterize performance will be undertaken. A periodic permanent magnet system to transport the annular electron beam will be fabricated and tested. From the results of this work, a fully repetitive TKA will be designed.
Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The triaxial klystron amplifier will greatly reduce the cost of future colliders – both in construction and operation -- and has the potential to be the key to the economic viability of such accelerators. Other potential civilian applications include chemical processing, materials studies, bulk heating, surface processing, and plasma heating. Military applications include electronic warfare and various nonlethal munitions.