Binary rf pulse compression experiment at SLAC

Using rf pulse compression it will be possible to boost the 50- to 100-MW output expected from high-power microwave tubes operating in the 10- to 20-GHz frequency range, to the 300- to 1000-MW level required by the next generation of high-gradient linacs for linear for linear colliders. A high-power X-band three-stage binary rf pulse compressor has been implemented and operated at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). In each of three successive stages, the rf pulse-length is compressed by half, and the peak power is approximately doubled. The experimental results presented here have been obtained at low-power (1-kW) and high-power (15-MW) input levels in initial testing with a TWT and a klystron. Rf pulses initially 770 nsec long have been compressed to 60 nsec. Peak power gains of 1.8 per stage, and 5.5 for three stages, have been measured. This corresponds to a peak power compression efficiency of about 90% per stage, or about 70% for three stages, consistent with the individual component losses. The principle of operation of a binary pulse compressor (BPC) is described in detail elsewhere. We recently have implemented and operated at SLAC a high-power (high-vacuum) three-stage X-band BPC. First results from the high-power three-stage BPCmore » experiment are reported here.« less