Ion Effects in the DARHT-II Downstream Transport

Abstract

The DARHT-II accelerator produces an 18-MeV, 2-kA, 2-μs electron beam pulse. After the accelerator, the pulse is delivered to the final focus on an x-ray producing target via a beam transport section called the Downstream Transport. Ions produced due to beam ionization of residual gases in the Downstream Transport can affect the beam dynamics. Ions generated by the head of the pulse will cause modification of space-charge forces at the tail of the pulse so that the beam head and tail will have different beam envelopes. They may also induce ion-hose instability at the tail of the pulse. If these effects are significant, the focusing requirements of beam head and tail at the final focus will become very different. The focusing of the complete beam pulse will be time dependent and difficult to achieve, leading to less efficient x-ray production. In this paper, we will describe the results of our calculations of these ion effects at different residual-gas pressure levels. Our goal is to determine the maximum residual-gas pressure allowable in DARHT-II Downstream Transport such that the required final beam focus is achievable over the entire beam pulse under these deleterious ion effects.