BEAMLINE PULSING SYSTEM FOR CYCLOTRONS

A beamline pulsing system for cyclotrons is presented. The function of this system is to modify the structure of a cyclotron ion beam guided to the desired research target by a beamline. In some in-beam experim ents, an adjustment of the time structure of the beam is sometimes nee ded. This kind of situation occurs if,for example, the life time of th e target material is longer than the period corresponding to the beam frequency. In this case, the frequency of the ion pulses hitting the t arget is 10-21 MHz depending on the frequency of the acceleration volt age. The adjustment of the ion beam pulse frequency is carried out by a beamline deflector. Deflection is achieved by feeding a high-amplitu de (10-15 kV) RF-signal between the deflection plates positioned into the beamline. This signal is generated from the cyclotron reference si gnal by frequency division, phase adjustment and amplification. Simula tion and test results indicate that the specified deflection signal le vel is achieved with 1 kW of RF-power. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.