Optimization of electrodynamic characteristics of the linear electron accelerator at an energy 8–50 MeV with injection from an electron source based on cluster plasma systems

Abstract

One of the key problems of contemporary accelerator physics has been an increase of the rate of the energy gain in linear electron accelerators. The physical limits of the accelerating field intensity for the normal and superconducting accelerating structures have been practically reached; therefore, new acceleration schemes are being considered, primarily acceleration in plasma and wakefield acceleration. It is suggested to consider an opportunity using of a bunch generated in a laser-plasma channel for injection into a traditional metal structure. It has been shown that an electron source based on a cluster plasma can generate a short (from 0.1 to 1.0 ps) electron bunch with an energy of several hundred keV, which makes it possible to consider such a source as an alternative to a photocathode. Next, the beam must be captured in the acceleration mode and accelerated up to an energy of 50 MeV with the possibility of energy tuning. The features of such accelerator, the features of the electron bunch capturing in the acceleration mode, and the possible values of the energy spectrum in such a system will considered. The features of such a source, including the possible energy spectrum, the features of the electron bunch capturing with an extremely wide spectrum in the acceleration mode, as well as the electrodynamic characteristics of the accelerating structures are considered in the paper. The beam dynamics simulation was carried out using the BEAMDULAC package developed at the Department of Electrophysical Facilities of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. The main results of the optimization of electrodynamic characteristics of the accelerating structures was also reported.