Superconducting accelerating structures for very low velocity ion beams

Abstract

This paper presents designs for four types of very-low-velocity superconducting (SC) accelerating cavity capable of providing several MV of accelerating potential per cavity, and suitable for particle velocities in the range 0.006<v/c<0.06. Superconducting TEM-class cavities have been widely applied to cw acceleration of ion beams. SC linacs can be formed as an array of independently phased cavities, enabling a variable velocity profile to maximize the output energy for each of a number of different ion species. Several laboratories in the U.S. and Europe are planning exotic beam facilities based on SC linacs. The cavity designs presented here are intended for the front end of such linacs, particularly for the postacceleration of rare isotopes of low charge state. Several types of SC cavities have been developed recently to cover particle velocities above 0.06c. Superconducting four-gap quarter-wave resonators for velocities 0.008<β=v/c<0.05 were developed about two decades ago and have been successfully operated at the ATLAS SC linac at Argonne National Laboratory. Since that time, progress in simulation tools, cavity fabrication, and processing have increased SC cavity gradients by a factor of 3–4. This paper applies these tools to optimize the design of a four-gap quarter-wave resonator for exotic beam facilities and other low-velocity applications.