A VERSATILE DC ACCELERATOR-BASED PULSED POWER MODULATOR

THE USE OF DIRECT CURRENT ACCELERATORS WITH ENERGY STORAGE CAPABILITY AND GRID CONTROL OF THE CATHODE CAN PROVIDE A LOW COST, HIGH CONFIDENCE MEANS OF GENERATING HIGH QUALITY ELECTRON BEAMS. THE NESTED HIGH VOLTAGE GENERATOR TECHNOLOGY IS WELL SUITED TO THE PRODUCTION OF SUCH BEAMS IN THE RANGE OF 0.25 TO 2.0 MEV AND 0 TO 2 KA WITH PULSE DURATIONS OF 0.05 TO 1.0 MICROSECONDS. THESE GENERATORS ARE COMPACT, INEXPENSIVE, AND CAPABLE OF VERY HIGH (85% POWER GRID-TO-BEAM) EFFICIENCIES. IN PHASE I, THIS TECHNOLOGY IS BEING ADAPTED TO PULSED BEAM OPERATION; THE OPERATION OF A 400 KV, 100 A, 100 NS PULSED BEAM AT 200 HZ (BURST) REPETITION RATE IS BEING INVESTIGATED. THIS WOULD DEMONSTRATE GRID CONTROL, WHICH IS THE KEY UNTESTED FEATURE OF THE TECHNIQUE FOR PULSED BEAMS. ULTIMATE SYSTEM COSTS ARE ALSO BEING ESTIMATED.