Development of multimegawatt klystrons for linear colliders

A number of experimental klystrons have been constructed and evaluated at SLAC, KEK and INP, aiming toward output power objectives of 100 and 120 MW at 11.4 GHz (SLAC and KEK respectively) or 150 MW at 14 GHz (INP), with pulse lengths of the order of 1 μs. Since RF breakdown is considered to be the principal mechanism limiting power for such tubes, most of the effort has been concentrated on the design of output circuits that reduce RF gradients by distributing fields over a longer region of interaction. Another klystron component receiving emphasis has been the output window, where the approach for future tubes may be to use a circular TEO1-mode, half-wave window. Best results to date in this continuing international effort are: 50 MW with 1 μs pulses, using a traveling-wave output circuit (SLAC and INP), and 85 MW with 200 ns. Pulses (SLAC), using two conventional reentrant, but uncoupled, output cavities. At KEK a klystron with a single, but not reentrant, cavity has produced 80 MW in 50 ns pulses. Finally, Haimson has demonstrated 100 MW at 50 ns with a traveling-wave output. This paper addresses primarily the work performed at SLAC during the last two years