The Application of Magnetic Switches as Pulse Sources for Induction Linacs

Future accelerator requirements of the Particle Beam Program for increased repetition rates and reliability led to the investigation of alternative switching schemes of pulse compression using saturable inductors. This technique has been in use for several decades, but at relatively low power levels and long pulses. Recent developments in amorphous magnetic materials has eased the challenging problem of generating 250 kV pulses for 50 ns at power levels exceeding 20 GW with fast risetime and good efficiency. The timing simultaneity required in linacs from many such parallel systems was achieved with a high degree of voltage regulation and timing feed-forward techniques. The application of magnetic switching has not only exceeded the rep-rate and jitter requirements for short bursts of pulses, but has provided excellent reliability making them applicable for a variety of other high-average power applications besides the Particle Beam Program.