Development of a dual-pulse RF driver for an S-band (= 2856 MHz) RF electron linear accelerator

Abstract

The radiation equipment research division of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has developed a Container Inspection System (CIS) using a Radio Frequency (RF) electron linear accelerator for port security. The primary purpose of the CIS is to detect nuclear materials and explosives, as well country-specific prohibited substances, e.g., smuggled. The CIS consists of a 9/6 MeV dualenergy electron linear accelerator for distinguishing between organic and inorganic materials. The accelerator consists of an electron gun, an RF accelerating structure, an RF driver, a modulator, electromagnets, a cooling system, a X-ray generating target, X-ray collimator, a detector, and a container moving system. The RF driver is an important part of the configuration because it is the RF power source: it supplies the RF power to the accelerating structure. A unique aspect of the RF driver is that it generates dual RF power to generate dual energy (9/6 MeV). The advantage of this RF driver is that it can allow the pulse width to vary and can be used to obtain a wide range of energy output, and pulse repetition rates up to 300 Hz. For this reason, 140 W (5 MW − 9 MeV) and 37 W (3.4 MW − 6 MeV) power outputs are available independently. A high power test for 20 minutes demonstrate that stable dual output powers can be generated. Moreover, the dual power can be applied to the accelerator which has stable accelerator operation. In this paper, the design, fabrication and high power test of the RF driver for the RF electron linear accelerator (linac) are presented.