Upgrade of the PHERMEX accelerator

The PHERMEX (Pulsed High Energy Radiographic Machine-Emitting X-rays) electron beam accelerator at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a 50-MHz, 30-MV standing-wave device, typically operates with a 500-A, 600-kV injector. A higher-current injector is under consideration, and the authors have modeled a flat-cathode diode geometry which can deliver 1-1.5 kA. A three-coil field configuration has been designed to maintain low beam emittance in the diode region. It is shown that the existing two transport magnets are marginally capable of transporting a 1 kA beam to the first RF cavity. The authors examine the possibility of accelerating a 4-kA, 4-MV beam, which could be provided by an existing pulsed power machine, through the first RF cavity.<>