Design Features of a High-Current Pulsed Electron Accelerator

The design features of an induction electron accelerator which is under construction at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at Livermore, California, are described. The basic parameters are beam energy 4 Mev, beam current 200 amperes, pulse length 0.25 ¿sec, repetition rate 60 per second. The design beam quality is to be <10-2 radian-cm and the energy spread is to be ±0.5% during the useful part of the pulse. The accelerator consists of a gun whose output is 720 kev, followed by six modular units of 570-kev output each. Several unique components have been developed for use on this machine; among them are a 10-inch-diameter cathode and an accelerating column made of metal-ceramic seals 14 inches in diameter for use on the gun. This accelerator is being constructed for use in experiments on the "Astron" concept for heating and containing hot plasma.