Alvarez Drift Tube Linac for Medical Applications in the Framework of Hitriplus Project

Abstract

A first beam dynamics and RF design of an Alvarez-type drift tube linac (DTL) has been defined in the framework of the EU project, HITRIplus. It is meant primarily as a carbon (12C4+) and helium (4He2+) ion injector of a compact synchrotron for patient treatment. As a second implementation, helium particle acceleration with a higher duty cycle (10%) enables radioisotope production. The 352.2 MHz structure efficiently accelerates ion species with A/q=3 and 2, in the energy range from 1 to 5 MeV/u and for a beam current up to ∼0.5 mA. The design extends to a full length of ∼6.4 meters. Permanent magnet quadrupoles are utilized all along the DTL for focusing both ion beams. This paper presents a first-phase analysis towards a realistic DTL design capable of providing full beam transmission and minimum overall emittance increase for both A/q values.