Modulator applications in high energy accelerators

The characteristics of hard-tube, line-type, and magnetic modulators for high-energy accelerators are examined. It is noted that the engineer should choose the simplest of these three types that will satisfy his requirements. From a system viewpoint it should be every engineer´s goal to minimize the number of times that he handles the power, starting with the 60 Hz line no matter which type of modulator is used. In high energy accelerators, specifically those which are driven by RF devices, the modulator of choice has been the line-type switched by a thyratron. This type of modulator satisfies the need to reliably drive these experimental machines for many thousands of hours at high repetition rates. In the case of induction accelerators which are high-current devices (low impedance) and are driven by modulators directly, the magnetic modulator may be the only choice if high repetition rates are required