Linear induction accelerators utilize ferrite-loaded, non-resonant
magnetic induction cavities. Each cavity can be thought of as two large washer-shaped disks connected by an outer cylindrical tube. Between the disks is a ferrite toroid. A voltage pulse applied between the two disks causes an increasing magnetic field which inductively couples power into the charged particle beam.
The linear induction accelerator was invented by Christofilos in the 1960s.
[
] Linear induction accelerators are capable of accelerating very high beam currents (>1000 A) in a single short pulse. They have been used to generate X-rays for flash radiography (e.g.
DARHT at
LANL
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in ...
), and have been considered as particle injectors for
magnetic confinement fusion
Magnetic confinement fusion is an approach to generate thermonuclear fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, along with ...
and as drivers for
free electron laser
A free-electron laser (FEL) is a (fourth generation) light source producing extremely brilliant and short pulses of radiation. An FEL functions and behaves in many ways like a laser, but instead of using stimulated emission from atomic or molecula ...
s. A compact version of a linear induction accelerator, the
dielectric wall accelerator
A Dielectric Wall Accelerator (DWA) is a compact linear particle accelerator concept designed and patented in the late 1990s, that works by inducing a travelling electromagnetic wave in a tube which is constructed mostly from a dielectric materia ...
, has been proposed as a proton accelerator for medical
proton therapy
In medicine, proton therapy, or proton radiotherapy, is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often to treat cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy over other types of external beam r ...
.
References
Particle accelerators
{{particle-stub