Development of the new electron accelerator Ridgetron

A new cw electron accelerator, the Ridgetron, with a ridged RF cavity reson ator is proposed. In the ridged cavity, the electric field excited in the T E110 mode is concentrated in the gap between two ridges and the magnetic fi eld is zero in their gap and inside the hollow ridges. By using this symmet rical plane through the gap and the ridges, therefore, it is possible to ac celerate charged particle beams without parasitic deflection by the magneti c field. The Ridgetron accelerates the beams in the radial direction throug h the plane and performs successive acceleration and focusing with bending magnets. This machine is suitable for accelerating the continuous electron beams at modest output power ratings between 1 and 25 kW in the 0.5-10 MeV range. It is more compact than other electron accelerators operated in the VHF band and can be installed in a compact space desired for an industrial electron irradiation facility. Its prototype is under development. The resu lts of beam simulations showed that the beams can be accelerated stably up to the final energy. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.