Investigation of induction cells and modulator design for heavy ion accelerators

The induction linear accelerator has been a leading candidate in the US for the acceleration of high-current heavy ion beams to initiate inertial confinement fusion. The authors describe the rather unique parameters derived from the accelerator beam dynamics, and address the design and development of accelerator induction cells and their modulators to be used in a near-term driver scaling experiment named the Induction Linac Systems Experiments (ILSE) planned for construction starting in 1994. Work is underway to develop the cells and their pulse modulators. Tradeoffs between the amorphous core material, pulse length, and risetime and falltime are made against efficiency, costs, and technical risks. The tradeoffs between ferromagnetic material efficiency and costs are made with the size and costs of the PFNs. With a total requirement of up to 100 metric tons, ILSE could well become one of the largest users of ferromagnetic materials for pulsed applications