Coupling and decoupling of the accelerating units for pulsed synchronous linear accelerator

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Accelerator Physics
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• A novel pulsed synchronous linear accelerator (PSLA) utilizing advanced technologies experienced lower-than-expected proton beam energy gain during commissioning.
• The observed energy gain degradation was hypothesized to stem from circuit and cavity coupling effects within the accelerating units.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and explain the degradation of energy gain in a PSLA due to coupling effects.
• To propose and evaluate methods for mitigating these coupling effects to improve accelerator performance.

Main Methods:

• Studied the circuit and cavity coupling effects of accelerating units in the PSLA.
• Presented circuit topologies illustrating these coupling effects.
• Proposed and simulated inductance and membrane isolation methods to reduce circuit coupling.
• Investigated the decoupling efficiency of metal drift tubes.
• Conducted experiments on circuit decoupling of multiple accelerating cavities.

Main Results:

• Identified circuit and cavity coupling as the cause for reduced energy gain.
• Demonstrated that inductance and membrane isolation methods can reduce circuit coupling effects.
• Simulations supported the effectiveness of the membrane isolation method.
• Experimental results confirmed that both decoupling methods increase normalized voltage.

Conclusions:

• Circuit and cavity coupling significantly impact PSLA performance by reducing energy gain.
• Inductance and membrane isolation are effective strategies for mitigating circuit coupling.
• These decoupling techniques offer a viable path to enhance the performance of pulsed synchronous linear accelerators.