Sami Tantawi

Geometric dependence of radio-frequency breakdown in normal conducting accelerating structures

We present the experimental results of a systematic study of rf breakdown phenomenon in high vacuum accelerator structures. In this study, the surface processing, geometry, and materials of the structures have been varied, one parameter at a time. The breakdown rate or alternatively, the probability of breakdown/pulse/meter has been recorded for different operating parameters. These statistical data reveal a strong dependence of breakdown probability on surface magnetic field, or alternatively on surface pulsed heating. This is in contrast to the classical view of electric field dependence. We will present our experimental methodology and results showing this remarkable correlation.

Theory and Experiment of a Compact Waveguide Dual Circular Polarizer

A new compact and wide-band waveguide dual circular polarizer at Ka-band is presented and tested in this paper. This compact structure is composed of a three-port polarizing diplexer and a circular polarizer realized by a simple pair of large grooves. The polarizing diplexer includes two rectangular waveguides with a perpendicular H-plane junction, one circular waveguide coupled in E- plane. A cylindrical step and two pins are used to match this structure. For a LHCP or RHCP wave in the circular port, only one speciflc rectangular port outputs power and the other one is isolated. The accurate analysis and design of the circular polarizer are conducted by using full-wave electromagnetic simulation tools. The optimized dual circular polarizer has the advantage of compact size with a volume smaller than 1.5‚ 3 , broad bandwidth, uncomplicated structure, and is especially suitable for use at high frequencies such as Ka-band and above. The prototype of the polarizer has been manufactured and test, the experimental results are basically consistent with the theories.

Novel Compact Waveguide Dual Circular Polarizer

A novel type of dual circular polarizer for simultaneously receiving and transmitting right-hand and left-hand circularly polarized waves is developed and tested. It consists of a H-plane T junction of rectangular waveguide, one circular waveguide as an E- plane arm located on top of the junction, and two metallic pins used for matching. The theoretical analysis and design of the three-physical- port and four-mode polarizer were researched by solving Scattering- Matrix of the network and using a full-wave electromagnetic simulation tool. The optimized polarizer has the advantages of a very compact size with a volume smaller than 0:6‚ 3 , low complexity and manufacturing cost. A couple of the polarizer has been manufactured and tested, and the experimental results are basically consistent with the theories.

A New Compact High-Power Microwave Phase Shifter

A new compact low-loss fast phase-shift high-power microwave (HPM) phase shifter (PS) is proposed, designed, and cold and high-power tested. Firstly, based on solving the scattering matrix and eigenvectors, we design a novel HPM dual circular polarizer, and then a dumbbell-like metal plug driven by a high-speed servomotor is used to slide a short circuit along the dual circular polarized port to adjust the output RF phase, which varies 180° by moving the plug with a quarter of the guided wavelength. The X-band PS has a total length of 9.5 cm and a power capacity achieved 300 MW at 30-ns HPM pulse. A fast phase shift of 310° was achieved within 0.1 s in test, a high precision of phase shift 1° can be realized, and the tested insertion loss was <; 0.15 dB.

Electron dynamics and transverse-kick elimination in a high-field short-period helical microwave undulator

Single electron dynamics for a circular polarized standing wave (CPSW) undulator synthesized from a corrugated cavity operating with a very low-loss HE11 mode are analyzed. The mechanism of the transverse drift of the CPSW undulator and its elimination are researched, and the tapered-field ends are found effectively to suppress the kick. A prototype of the CPSW undulator with the characters of short undulating-period 1.4 cm, high field K ∼ 1, large aperture ∼ 5 cm, and variable polarization is designed and modeled, whose 3-dimensional electromagnetic fields are used to research the suppression of the transverse kick.

Progress Toward Externally Powered X-Band Dielectric-Loaded Accelerating Structures

We summarize recent progress in a program to develop externally powered dielectric-loaded accelerating (DLA) structures that can sustain high accelerating gradients. High-power RF tests of earlier structures showed strong multipactor loading. In addition, arcing at dielectric joints between the uniform DLA structure and matching sections at either end limited the achievable gradient. In this paper, we study the onset of multipactor in a DLA structure. We also study the effect of thin-film TiN coatings applied by atomic layer deposition and the effect of a reduction in the inner diameter of the structure. Test results of these structures show significant decreases in multipactor loading. We also test new structure designs that eliminate separate dielectric matching sections and, thus, the requirement for dielectric joints, including a DLA structure using a coaxial coupler and a clamped DLA structure. The clamped structure demonstrated a significantly improved gradient without breakdown.

Research and Development for Ultra-High Gradient Accelerator Structures

Research on the basic physics of high‐gradient, high frequency accelerator structures and the associated RF/microwave technology are essential for the future of discovery science, medicine and biology, energy and environment, and national security. We will review the state‐of‐the‐art for the development of high gradient linear accelerators. We will present the research activities aimed at exploring the basic physics phenomenon of RF breakdown. We present the experimental results of a true systematic study in which the surface processing, geometry, and materials of the structures have been varied, one parameter at a time. The breakdown rate or alternatively, the probability of breakdown/pulse/meter has been recorded for different operating parameters. These statistical data reveal a strong dependence of breakdown probability on surface magnetic field, or alternatively on surface pulsed heating. This is in contrast to the classical view of electric field dependence.

High power tests of an electroforming cavity operating at 11.424 GHz

The achievement of ultra high accelerating gradients is mandatory in order to fabricate compact accelerators at 11.424 GHz for scientific and industrial applications. An extensive experimental and theoretical program to determine a reliable ultra high gradient operation of the future linear accelerators is under way in many laboratories. In particular, systematic studies on the 11.424 GHz frequency accelerator structures, R&D on new materials and the associated microwave technology are in progress to achieve accelerating gradients well above 120 MeV/m. Among the many, the electroforming procedure is a promising approach to manufacture high performance RF devices in order to avoid the high temperature brazing and to produce precise RF structures. We report here the characterization of a hard high gradient RF accelerating structure at 11.424 GHz fabricated using the electroforming technique. Low-level RF measurements and high power RF tests carried out at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory on this prototype are presented and discussed. In addition, we present also a possible layout where the water-cooling of irises based on the electroforming process has been considered for the first time.

Development of MMIC receivers for cosmic microwave background interferometry

We report on the development of some of the key technologies that will be needed for a large-format Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) interferometer with many hundreds of wideband W-band (75-110 GHz) receivers. A scalable threebaseline prototype interferometer is being assembled as a technology demonstration for a future ground- or space-based instrument. Each of the prototype heterodyne receivers integrates two InPMonolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) low-noise amplifiers, a coupled-line bandpass filter, a subharmonic balanced diode mixer, and a 90° local oscillator phase switch into a single compact module that is suitable for mass production. Room temperature measurements indicate bandaveraged receiver noise temperatures of 500 K from 85-100 GHz. Cryogenic receiver noise temperatures are expected to be around 50 K.

Cryogenic RF Material Testing with a High-Q Copper Cavity

An X‐band RF cryogenic material testing system has been developed in the past few years. This system employs a high‐Q copper cavity with an interchangeable flat bottom working under a TE013 like mode. By measuring the cavity Qs with a network analyzer, the system can characterize the surface resistance of different samples at different temperatures. Using a 50 MW 2μs pulsed klystron, the system can measure the quenching H field for superconducting samples, up to 300–400 mT. In this paper, we will present the most recent developments of the system and testing results.