The Application of Transient Beam Loading in Linear Accelerators to Obtain a Fixed Charge/Pulse

In the initial stage of transient beam loading of an electron linear accelerator, the decrease in energy with time is approximately linear. It will be shown that this phenomenon can be used to provide a small constant charge per pulse at a given energy independent of accelerated beam current and peak beam energy, if the accelerator is used in conjunction with an energy analyzing system and defining slits. Some of the limitations of this technique are discussed. Applications are numerous and include current limitation in the electron beam therapy of malignant tumors with linear accelerators and the field of pulse radiolysis.