The General Atomic Coupled Electron Linear Accelerator

Abstract

The General Atomic Linear Accelerator Facility consists of two L-band linear accelerators which can be operated independently or coupled together to form one machine. The first accelerator is a single section powered by a 20-MW klystron and is capable of operating over an energy range of one MeV to 17 MeV. Peak currents of 16 A at 12 MeV and 40 ns pulse length have been obtained with the first Linac. The second Linac, which is built in line with the first machine, consists of three sections powered by one 10-MW and two 20-MW klystrons. The second Linac is capable of producing a 35-MeV electron beam with an intensity of 2 A at pulse length less than 0.1 μs. By rotating the injector of the second Linac it accepts the beam from the first machine, thereby creating a higher energy machine capable of delivering energies of up to 80 MeV. Other features of the facility include six independent irradiated cells, 15 target positions, and a high power positron converter; as well as monoenergetic gamma ray sources, high intensity neutron targets, and a single particle per pulse capability. In addition, a special cell contains the APFA-III accelerator-pulsed fast burst reactor, which is operated at a multiplication of 1000 to obtain neutron fluences of 1012 - 1013 n/cm2 in 5 μs.