An Experimental Program to Build a Multimegawatt Lasertron for Super Linear Colliders

A lasertron (a microwave "triode" with an RF output cavity and an RF modulated laser to illuminate a photocathode) is a possible high power RF amplifier for TeV linear colliders. As the first step toward building a 35 MW, S-band lasertron for a proof of principle demonstration, a 400 kV dc diode is being designed with a GaAs photocathode, a drift-tube and a collector. After some cathode life tests are made in the diode, an RF output cavity will replace the drift tube and a modelocked, frequency-doubled, Nd:YAG laser, modulated to produce a 1 us-long comb of 60 ps pulses at a 2856 MHz rate, will be used to illuminate the photocathode to make an RF power source out of the device. This paper discusses the plans for the project and includes some results of numerical simulation studies of the lasertron as well as some of the ultra-high vacuum and mechanical design requirements for incorporating a photocathode.