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We are investigating a standing wave accelerator structure that uses a rf feed to each individual cell. This approach minimizes rf power flow and electromagnetic energy absorbed by an rf breakdown. The objective of this work is a robust high-gradient (above 100 MV/m) X-band accelerator structure.
The authors argue that the physics of unipolar arcs and surface cracks can help understand rf breakdown and vacuum arc data. They outline a model of the basic mechanisms involved in breakdown and explore how the physics of unipolar arcs and cracks can simplify the picture of breakdown and gradient limits in accelerators, tokamaks as well as laser ablation, micrometeorites, and other applications. Cracks are commonly seen in SEM images of arc damage and they are produced as the liquid metal cools. They can produce the required field enhancements to explain field emission data and can produce mechanical failure of the surface that would trigger breakdown events. Unipolar arcs can produce currents sufficient to short out rf structures, and can cause the sort of damage seen in SEM images. They should be unstable, and possibly self-quenching, as seen in optical fluctuations and surface damage. The authors describe some details and consider the predictions of this simple model.
In order to produce muon beam of high enough quality to be used for a Muon Collider, its large phase space must be cooled several orders of magnitude. This task can be accomplished by ionization cooling. Ionization cooling consists of passing a high-emittance muon beam alternately through regions of low Z material, such as liquid hydrogen, and very high accelerating RF cavities within a multi-Tesla solenoidal focusing channel. But first high power tests of RF cavity with beryllium windows in solenoidal magnetic field showed a dramatic drop in accelerating gradient due to RF breakdowns. It has been concluded that external magnetic fields parallel to RF electric field significantly modifies the performance of RF cavities. However, magnetic field in Helical Cooling Channel has a strong dipole component in addition to solenoidal one. The dipole component essentially changes electron motion in a cavity compare to pure solenoidal case, making dark current less focused at field emission sites. The simulation of dark current dynamic in HCC performed with CST Studio Suit is presented in this paper.
Pure oxygen-free high-conductivity copper is a widely used material for manufacturing accelerating cavities working at room temperature. Several studies attempted to explain limitations associated with the maximum allowed field gradients and the behaviour of vacuum RF breakdown in copper accelerating structures through generation and movement of dislocations under stresses associated with RF electric and magnetic fields. Pure copper and also copper alloys undergo mechanical and thermal treatments to be hardened and strengthened during manufacturing, although their mechanical properties significantly change after heating above 590°C. High temperature brazing and diffusion bonding are assembly methods widely used to manufacture ultra-high vacuum accelerating devices. However, these processes, occurring at about 800–1000°C, significantly affect the mechanical properties of copper and copper alloys. We introduce here a novel Tungsten Inert Gas welding procedure, which is fast and keeps the high-gradient surfaces of the cavity and other components well below the copper annealing temperature. This process may be successfully used to manufacture copper-based accelerating components. This technology further preserves the hardness and cleanliness of copper in order to achieve the maximum accelerating gradient.
A finite-difference algorithm was developed to calculate several RF breakdown parameters, for example, the formative delay time that is observed between the initial application of a RF field to a dielectric surface and the formation of field-induced plasma interrupting the RF power flow. The analysis is focused on the surface being exposed to a background gas pressure above 50 Torr. The finite-difference algorithm provides numerical solutions to partial differential equations with high resolution in the time domain, making it suitable for simulating the time evolving interaction of microwaves with plasma; in lieu of direct particle tracking, a macroscopic electron density is used to model growth and transport. This approach is presented as an alternative to particle-in-cell methods due to its low complexity and runtime leading to more efficient analysis for a simulation of a microsecond scale pulse. The effect and development of the plasma is modeled in the simulation using scaling laws for ionization rates, momentum transfer collision rates, and diffusion coefficients, as a function of electric field, gas type and pressure. The incorporation of plasma material into the simulation involves using the Z-transform to derive a time-domain algorithm from the complex frequency-dependent permittivity of plasma. Therefore, the effect of the developing plasma on the instantaneous microwave field is calculated. Simulation results are compared with power measurements using an apparatus designed to facilitate surface flashover across a polycarbonate boundary in a controlled N{sub 2}, air, or argon environment at pressures exceeding 50 Torr.
In a hybrid 6D cooling channel, cooling is accomplished by reducing the beam momentum through ionization energy loss in wedge absorbers and replenishing the momentum loss in the longitudinal direction with gas-filled rf cavities. While the gas acts as a buffer to prevent rf breakdown, gas ionization also occurs as the beam passes through the pressurized cavity. The resulting plasma may gain substantial energy from the rf electric field which it can transfer via collisions to the gas, an effect known as plasma loading. In this paper, we investigate the influence of plasma loading on the cooling performance of a rectilinear hybrid channel. With the aid of numerical simulations we examine the sensitivity in cooling performance and plasma loading to key parameters such as the rf gradient and gas pressure.
Research on the basic physics of high-gradient, high frequency accelerator structures and the associated RF-microwave technology are essential for the future of discovery science, medicine and biology, energy and environment, and national security. We will review the state-of-the-art for the development of high gradient linear accelerators. We will present the research activities aimed at exploring the basic physics phenomenon of RF breakdown. We present the experimental results of a true systematic study in which the surface processing, geometry, and materials of the structures have been varied, one parameter at a time. The breakdown rate or alternatively, the probability of breakdown-pulse-meter has been recorded for different operating parameters. These statistical data reveal a strong dependence of breakdown probability on surface magnetic field, or alternatively on surface pulsed heating. This is in contrast to the classical view of electric field dependence.
Radio-frequency (rf) photoemission electron guns operating at higher accelerating gradients offer a pathway to produce brighter electron bunches. Brighter beams are expected to revolutionize many areas of science: they could form the backbone of next-generation compact x-ray free-electron lasers or provide coherent ultrafast quantum electron probes. We report on the experimental demonstration of an rf photoemission electron source supporting an accelerating field close to 400 MV/m at the photocathode surface without major rf breakdown or significant dark current over a 3-week experimental run. This unprecedented gradient was achieved by operating the gun in a new regime with short rf pulses, ~9ns X-band (11.7 GHz). The demonstrated paradigm provides a viable path to form relativistic electron beams with unprecedented brightness.
Investigations of the parameters of single streamers of nanosecond frequency corona discharge, creating a voluminous low-temperature plasma in extended coaxial electrode systems, are performed. Measurements of the parameters of streamers were made by an isolated probe situated on the outer grounded electrode. Streamers were generated under the action of voltage pulses with a front of 50–300 ns, duration of 100–600 ns, and amplitude up to 100 kV at the frequency of 50–1000 Hz. The pulse voltage, the total current of the corona, current per probe, and glow in the discharge gap were recorded in the experiments. It was established that, at these parameters of pulse voltage, streamers propagate at an average strength of the electric field of 4–10 kV/cm. Increasing the pulse amplitude leads to an increase in the number of streamers hitting the probe, an increase in the average charge of the head of a streamer, and, as a consequence, an increase in the total streamer current and the energy introduced into the gas. In the intervals up to 3 cm, streamer breakdown at an average field strength of 5–10 kV/cm is possible. In longer intervals, during the buildup of voltage after generation of the main pulse, RF breakdown is observed at Е{sub av} ≈ 4 kV/cm.
We describe an alternative cooling approach to prevent rf breakdown in magnetic fields that simultaneously reduces all six phase-space dimensions of a muon beam. In this process, cooling is accomplished by reducing the beam momentum through ionization energy loss in discrete absorbers and replenishing the momentum loss only in the longitudinal direction through gas-filled rf cavities. The advantage of gas filled cavities is that they can run at high gradients in magnetic fields without breakdown. Using this approach, we show that our channel can achieve a decrease of the 6-dimensional phase-space volume by several orders of magnitude. With the aid of numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the transmission of our proposed channel is comparable to that of an equivalent channel with vacuum rf cavities. Finally, we discuss the sensitivity of the channel performance to the choice of gas and operating pressure.
Bright muon sources require six dimensional cooling to achieve acceptable luminosities. Ionization cooling is the only known method able to do so within the muon lifetime. One proposed cooling channel, the Helical Cooling Channel, utilizes gas filled radio frequency cavities to both mitigate RF breakdown in the presence of strong, external magnetic fields, and provide the cooling medium. Engineering constraints on the diameter of the magnets within which these cavities operate dictate the radius of the cavities be decreased at their nominal operating frequency. To accomplish this, one may load the cavities with a larger dielectric material. Alumina of purities ranging from 96 to 99.8% was tested in a high pressure RF test cell at the MuCool Test Area at Fermilab. The results of breakdown studies with pure nitrogen gas, and oxygen-doped nitrogen gas indicate the peak surface electric field on the alumina ranges between 10 and 15 MV/m. How these results affect the design of a prototype cooling channel cavity will be discussed.
Accelerating particles at high gradients with high efficiencies is essential for reduction of size and cost of future accelerators for science and industry. This includes a future multi-TeV e+e- collider for particle, free-electron lasers for basic energy sciences and national security, industrial accelerators for energy and environmental applications, and accelerators for other applications. One way to achieve this is to use advanced externally-powered structures, both laser and RF driven. Working Group 3 (WG3) discussed novel accelerating structures with new geometries, new materials, frequencies from microwave to THz and optical spectrum, and operating conditions from room temperature to cryogenic. Presentations included recent advances in understanding RF breakdown and multipactor phenomena at different frequencies and materials, and other physics limitations to the accelerating gradient. Other relevant topics, such as developing high-gradient photoinjectors, high-efficiency RF power sources, and RF structures for a potential muon collider were discussed also. More details on each of the WG3 topics can be found in the articles published in these proceedings.
High-temperature plasma-facing material coatings used for radio frequency (RF) launchers need to be robust enough to survive RF breakdown arcing or other transient events from the plasma (e.g., an edge localized mode) without causing a catastrophic failure of the coating. High-power transient effects are being explored by using an RF-induced vacuum arc to determine the robustness of tungsten coatings made by a variety of manufacturing methods. A 1/4-wavelength resonant section of vacuum transmission line terminated with an open circuit electrode structure with a well-defined electric field (30-60 kV/mm) produces repeatable arcing conditions. The initial focus is on tungsten as a plasma-facing material, including sintered tungsten, tungsten coatings on steel produced via physical vapor deposition (PVD), and functionally graded tungsten/steel coatings deposited by low-pressure plasma-spraying (LPPS). Thin PVD coatings (1-2 microns) fail catastrophically from an arc and result in severe delamination of the coating. The arc-induced damage of thicker coatings, such as those made via LPPS, tend to be restricted to the top few microns of the surface. Arcing often initiates on sharp surface microstructures and causes localized melting of tungsten at the surface of all the materials studied and results in resolidified melt pools with surface cracks. The resolidified surface results in a reduction in overall deuterium retention when exposed to typical RF plasma sheath conditions.
SLAC participates in the U.S. High Gradient collaboration whose charter includes basic studies of rf breakdown properties in accelerating structures. These studies include experiments with different materials and construction methods for single cell standing wave accelerating structures. The most commonly used method of joining cells of such structures is the high temperature bonding and/or brazing in hydrogen and/or vacuum. These high temperature processes may not be suitable for some of the new materials that are under consideration. We propose to build structures from cells with an rf choke, taking the cell-to-cell junction out of the electromagnetic field region. These cells may be clamped together in a vacuum enclosure, the choke joint ensuring continuity of rf currents. Next, we propose a structure with a choke joint in a high gradient cell and a view port which may allow us microscopic, in-situ observation of the metal surface during high power tests. And third, we describe the design of a TM01 choke flange for these structures.
Bright muon sources require six dimensional cooling to achieve acceptable luminosities. Ionization cooling is the only known method able to do so within the muon lifetime. One proposed cooling channel, the Helical Cooling Channel, utilizes gas filled radio frequency cavities to both mitigate RF breakdown in the presence of strong, external magnetic fields, and provide the cooling medium. Engineering constraints on the diameter of the magnets within which these cavities operate dictate the radius of the cavities be decreased at their nominal operating frequency. To accomplish this, one may load the cavities with a larger dielectric material. A 99.5% alumina ring was inserted in a high pressure RF test cell and subjected to an intense proton beam at the MuCool Test Area at Fermilab. The results of the performance of this dielectric loaded high pressure RF cavity will be presented.
The Helical Cooling Channel (HCC) achieves effective ionization cooling of the six-dimensional (6d) phase space of a muon beam by means of a series of 21st century inventions. In the HCC, hydrogen-pressurized RF cavities enable high RF gradients in strong external magnetic fields. The theory of the HCC, which requires a magnetic field with solenoid, helical dipole, and helical quadrupole components, demonstrates that dispersion in the gaseous hydrogen energy absorber provides effective emittance exchange to enable longitudinal ionization cooling. The 10-year development of a practical implementation of a muon-beam cooling device has involved a series of technical innovations and experiments that imply that an HCC of less than 300 m length can cool the 6d emittance of a muon beam by six orders of magnitude. We describe the design and construction plans for a prototype HCC module based on oxygen-doped hydrogen-pressurized RF cavities that are loaded with dielectric, fed by magnetrons, and operate in a superconducting helical solenoid magnet. The first phase of this project saw the development of a conceptual design for the integration of 805 MHz RF cavities into a 10 T Nb 3 Sn-based HS test section. Two very novel ideas are required to realize the design. The first idea is the use of dielectric inserts in the RF cavities to make them smaller for a given frequency so that the cavities and associated plumbing easily fit inside the magnet cryostat. Calculations indicate that heat loads will be tolerable, while RF breakdown of the dielectric inserts will be suppressed by the pressurized hydrogen gas. The second new idea is the use of a multi-layer Nb 3 Sn helical solenoid. The technology demonstrations for the two aforementioned key components of a 10T, 805 MHz HCC were begun in this project. The work load in the Fermilab Technical Division made it difficult to test a multi-layer Nb 3 Sn solenoid as originally planned. Instead, a complementary project was approved by the DOE Technical Topic Manager to develop magnets for the Mu2e experiment that fit well into the Fermilab Technical Division availability. The difference between the MCC helical solenoid and the Mu2e bent solenoid described in Appendix I is that the helical solenoid is made of coils that are in parallel planes with offset centers, while the coils in the bent solenoid follow the central particle trajectory and look much like a “slinky” toy. The muon-beam cooling-channel technologies developed in this project will enable a muon collider, the next step toward the energy frontier, Higgs/neutrino/Z-factories, and rare muon decay experiments. Commercial uses of the beams made possible by the cooling techniques developed in this project include scanning for nuclear contraband, studies of material properties with spin resonance techniques, and muon-catalyzed fusion.
Some recent studies of rf breakdown physics in cryogenic copper X-band accelerating structures have shown a dramatic increase in the operating gradient while maintaining low breakdown rates. The TOPGUN project, a collaboration between UCLA, SLAC, and INFN, will use this improvement in gradient to create an ultra-high brightness cryogenic normal conducting photoinjector [16]. The brightness is expected to be higher by a factor of 25 relative to the LCLS photogun [9]. This improvement in the brightness will lead to increased performance of X-Ray free electron lasers (FELs) and ultrafast electron diffraction devices [16]. Here, we present the rf design for this S-band photogun, which will be a drop-in replacement for the current LCLS photogun.
The Muon Accelerator Program (MAP) collaboration is working to develop an ionization cooling channel for muon beams. An ionization cooling channel requires the operation of high-gradient, normal-conducting RF cavities in multi-Tesla solenoidal magnetic fields. However, experiments conducted at Fermilab?s MuCool Test Area (MTA) show that increasing the solenoidal field strength reduces the maximum achievable cavity gradient. This gradient limit is characterized by an RF breakdown process that has caused significant damage to copper cavity interiors. The damage may be caused by field-emitted electrons, focused by the solenoidal magnetic field onto small areas of the inner cavity surface. Local heating may then induce material fatigue and surface damage. Fabricating a cavity with beryllium walls would mitigate this damage due to beryllium?s low density, low thermal expansion, and high electrical and thermal conductivity. We address the design and fabrication of a pillbox RF cavity with beryllium walls, in order to evaluate the performance of high-gradient cavities in strong magnetic fields.