18

KA-Band RF Transmission Line Components for a High-Gradient Linear Accelerator--Omega-P, Inc., 202008 Yale Station, Suite 100, New Haven, CT  06520-2008; 203-458-1144

Dr. Jay L Hirshfield, Principal Investigator, jay@omega-p.com 

Mr. George P. Trahan, Business Official, trahan@omega-p.com 

DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-01ER83240

Amount:  $750,000

Efforts are underway to develop a high-gradient electron accelerator operating at 34 GHz, to be driven by a newly-developed radio frequency (rf) magnicon amplifier.  Yet few corresponding high-power components have been developed to provide rf power manipulation and transmission between the magnicon and the accelerator.  This project will develop a variety of high-power Ka-band rf components to remedy this situation.  These include waveguide tapers, right-angle miter bends, windows, mode converters, power combiners, mode launchers, phase shifters, dual directional couplers, and loads.  In Phase I, designs for all the components were developed; cold test versions of a taper, miter bend, mode converter, and power combiner were built and tested; and high-power versions of the dual directional coupler and load were built and installed on the magnicon output waveguides.  In Phase II, high-power, high-vacuum prototypes of all the components will be built and tested up to 45 MW.  Peak power limits for the components will be determined using a quasi-optical rf pulse compressor that is expected to produce levels up to 300 MW.  The components and the magnicon will be configured to a research and development facility for a future high-energy electron-positron collider.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:  Successful development should create demand for a number of sets to feed a test accelerator, and ultimately thousands of such sets would be needed for a full-scale multi-TeV electron-positron collider.  Other commercial uses include components for millimeter-wave radar and millimeter-wave communication systems.