DARHT-II Long-Pulse Beam-Dynamics Experiments

When completed, the DARHT-II linear induction accelerator (LIA) will produce a 2 kA, 18 MeV electron beam with more than 1500 ns current/energy “flat-top.” In initial tests DARHT-II has already accelerated beams with current pulse lengths from 500 ns to 1200 ns full-width at half maximum (FWHM) with more than 1.2 kA peak current and 12.5 MeV peak energy. Experiments will soon begin with a ∼ 1600 ns flat-top pulse, but with reduced current and energy. These pulse lengths are all significantly longer than any other multi-MeV LIA, and they define a novel regime for high-current beam dynamics, especially with regard to beam stability. Although the initial tests demonstrated the robustness of the DARHT-II LIA to BBU, the < 1200 ns FWHM pulse lengths were too short to test the predicted protection against ion-hose instability. The present experiments are designed to resolve these and other beam-dynamics issues with a ∼ 1600 ns pulse length beam.