Design, fabrication, and high-gradient testing of an X-band, traveling-wave accelerating structure milled from copper halves

• Main Authors: Theodoros Argyropoulos, Nuria Catalan-Lasheras, Alexej Grudiev, Gerard Mcmonagle, Enrique Rodriguez-Castro, Igor Syrachev, Rolf Wegner, Ben Woolley, Walter Wuensch, Hao Zha, Valery Dolgashev, Gorden Bowden, Andrew Haase, Thomas Geoffrey Lucas, Matteo Volpi, Daniel Esperante-Pereira, Robin Rajamäki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Physical Society 2018-06-01
• Series: Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
• Online Access: http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.21.061001

A prototype 11.994 GHz, traveling-wave accelerating structure for the Compact Linear Collider has been built, using the novel technique of assembling the structure from milled halves. The use of milled halves has many advantages when compared to a structure made from individual disks. These include the potential for a reduction in cost, because there are fewer parts, as well as a greater freedom in choice of joining technology because there are no rf currents across the halves’ joint. Here we present the rf design and fabrication of the prototype structure, followed by the results of the high-power test and post-test surface analysis. During high-power testing the structure reached an unloaded gradient of 100  MV/m at a rf breakdown rate of less than 1.5×10^{-5}  breakdowns/pulse/m with a 200 ns pulse. This structure has been designed for the CLIC testing program but construction from halves can be advantageous in a wide variety of applications.