Beam Breakup Instabilities in High Current Electron Beam Racetrack Induction Accelerators

Abstract

Beam breakup and negative mass instability growth rates for a 1 kA, 40 MeV electron beam racetrack induction accelerator are computed. The device is taken to have four acceleration gaps, each with 0.2 MeV applied voltage and 15 ohm transverse impedence; the guide field is 2 kg. We find that the total amplification of the beam breakup mode is limited to five e-foldings provided that the cavity mode quality factor Q is 6. Thus, the negative mass instability, which grows several times faster, is the dominant consideration. However, we also find that the energy range over which the negative mass instability occurs can be narrowed substantially by reducing the guide field strength after the beam has been accelerated to about 12 MeV. This approach, coupled with beam thermal effects, not considered here, probably is sufficient to limit negative mass growth to acceptable levels in the racetrack accelerator.