Material selection and characterization for high gradient RF applications

The selection of candidate materials for the accelerating cavities of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is carried out in parallel with high power RF testing. The maximum DC breakdown field of copper, copper alloys, refractory metals, aluminium and titanium have been measured with a dedicated setup. Higher maximum fields are obtained for refractory metals and for titanium, which exhibits, however, important damages after conditioning. Fatigue behaviour of copper alloys has been studied for surface and bulk by pulsed laser irradiation and ultrasonic excitation, respectively. The selected copper alloys show consistently higher fatigue resistance than copper in both experiments. In order to obtain the best local properties in the device a possible solution is a bi-metallic assembly. Junctions of molybdenum and copper-zirconium UNS C15000 alloy, achieved by HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing) diffusion bonding or explosion bonding were evaluated for their mechanical strength. The reliability of the results obtained with both techniques should be improved. Testing in DC and radiofrequency (RF) is continued in order to select materials for a bi-metal exhibiting superior properties with respect to the combination C15000-Mo.