A High-Power, Solid-State RF Source for Accelerator Cavities

During the past few years the Defense and Electronics Center of Westinghouse Electric Corporation has developed a solid-state, 250-kW peak, rf amplifier for use with the SPS-40 radar system. This system has a pulse length of 60 ¿s and operates across the frequency band from 400 to 450 MHz. Because of the potential use of such a system as an rf source for accelerator applications, a collaborative experiment was initiated between Los Alamos National Laboratory and Westinghouse to simulate the resonant load conditions of an accelerator cavity. This paper describes the positive results of that experiment as well as the solid-state amplifier architecture. It also explores the future of high-power, solid-state amplifiers as rf sources for accelerator structures.