THE 6 MV ACCELERATOR

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This is a 6 mega-Volt (MV) NEC¹ electrostatic accelerator of modified design. It is a single-ended vertical machine that operates at negative terminal potential and has both accelerator and decelerator tubes. A pressure vessel, approximately 10 meters high by 3.5 meters diameter, contains sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) insulating gas at 6 atm. pressure.

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photo - 19-Feb-98 - Accelerator column and high voltage terminal looking inside the tank.

This accelerator is unique in being designed to operate with a high current recirculating electron beam. Recirculation permits operation at ampere current levels for tens of microseconds despite a charging current four orders of magnitude smaller. The capacitive pickup signal shows the effect of this recirculation on terminal discharge.

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Photo - 14-Feb-98

One deck of the accelerator's column. Accelerator and decelerator tubes, charging chains, and the rotating shaft are visible. Metal and ceramic components provide highly reliable operation.

ELECTRON BEAM CHARACTERISTICS

ADVANTAGES

• NO TEMPORAL MICROSTRUCTURE
  • narrow linewidth, long coherence length
  • no damage to optics or samples by intense peak powers
  • no critical resonator tuning
• ABSENCE OF STRONG TIME-DEPENDENT FIELD GRADIENTS
  • negligible energy spread
  • acceleration with minimum beam degradation, low emittance
  • static fields permit deceleration and collection of a beam with almost perfect efficiency
• SIMPLE RELIABLE OPERATION
  • it is a simple, reliable, self-contained, mechanical device that can be switched on or off with a minimum of fuss or bother

ILLUSTRATION

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