STATUS OF EXPERIMENTS LEADING TO A SMALL RECIRCULATOR

A heavy ion linear induction accelerator is considered to be the leadi ng driver candidate for an Inertial Fusion Energy reactor. To deliver a space-charge-dominated beam at the appropriate energy (several GeV), such an accelerator would be several kilometers in length. Since tota l length has a strong influence on accelerator cost, we are considerin g the potential advantages and practical implementation of a recircula ting induction accelerator. To address the critical scientific and tec hnical challenges of a recirculating space-charge-dominated heavy ion beam, we have begun to develop the elements of a scaled ''small recirc ulator''. An operating recirculator must demonstrate full beam control including multi-lap operation, beam insertion/extraction, acceleratio n and pulse compression. At present, experiments have been conducted u sing a 2 mA, 80 keV K+ beam transported through a 45 degrees bend; exp eriments on a 90 degrees bend with five induction modulators will begi n soon. This paper briefly summarizes the recirculator specifications and operational features and reports the latest experimental data as w ell as the developmental status of beam diagnostics. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.