High Precision Electron Gun Development for Gyrotrons

Implementations of large scale ECH systems such as required for ITER have experienced issues with variability in gyrotron performance due to deficiencies in the mechanical alignment between key gyrotron components. High precision electron gun technology will produce high quality electron beams and increase gyrotron interaction efficiency. Reproducibility between multiple gyrotron sources in a plasma heating system will be enhanced, minimizing power and efficiency variations from device to device. The enabling technology and simulation tools were developed and utilized to fabricate a prototype high precision electron gun stem. Testing of the prototype showed high precision and repeatability of critical gun features under thermal and mechanical loading. Design of a functional electron gun and further optimization of the technology, culminating in the manufacture of a complete electron gun. Mechanical, thermal, electrical and electron beam performance of the gun will be evaluated in a series of tests. Commercial Applications and OtherBenefits: The development of very high precision technology for electron guns would significantly reduce gyrotron assembly labor costs and time, resulting in improvements to electron beam and microwave device manufacturing processes which have seen few innovations in the past decades. The technology has potential applications in energy, medicine, and defense through improvement of performance and manufacturability of vacuum electron devices, such as klystrons, IOTs, and THz sources.