High-Power Microwave Switch Employing Electron Beam Triggering

Development of accelerator structures that can sustain acceleration gradients in the range of 150 MeV/m will be required for the construction of a future multi-TeV collider with energies that exceed present or planned electron-positron colliders. However, the high-power facilities needed to test these structures do not generate sufficiently-high peak powers; therefore, RF pulse compressors are needed to provide power multiplication. So far, active RF pulse compressors have been limited in peak power due to RF breakdown, mainly on the surfaces of non-metallic elements within the active switches. This project introduces the concept of a high-power RF switch, in which the active element is a pulsed electron beam. This feature should allow the switch to operate at higher peak power levels than for prior RF switches, because no insulating elements are present within the switch. Low power switches based on this principle will be optimized and tested during Phase I at 11.4 and/or 34.3 GHz; a high power version will be tested during Phase II. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The development of structures that can sustain high accelerating gradients without an undue frequency of breakdown should accelerate the construction of the multi-TeV collider.