A Single Pulse Sub-Nanosecond Proton RFQ

A Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) linac system has been developed to provide a single pulse of 2 MeV protons with a beam pulse width of {approx}300 ps and a charge of 30 pC, either for injection into a pulsed Dielectric Wall Accelerator or for bombardment of a target to produce a fast neutron pulse. The 1.2 m long RFQ structure operates at 425 MHz and bunches and accelerates a single 2.35 ns beam pulse injected into it at 35 keV using a parallel plate deflector placed directly in front of the RFQ entrance. The input acceptance properties of the RFQ allow a simple dc bias voltage on the plates to block acceleration of the unwanted beam, with a short rf voltage pulse applied to null the deflection field for the ions within the 8 mm 'kicker' plate length. The use of the RFQ as the accelerating structure allows one to efficiently produce a large charge in a single sub-ns bunch. In addition, the kicker can also be used without the dc bias voltage to produce a 'notch' in the normal RFQ output beam for synchrotron injection.