Low-Voltage Model Studies of Transmission-Line Configurations for Particle Acceleration

Low-voltage model studies of various transmission-line configurations for particle acceleration have been carried out in parallel-plate and folded, coaxial cavity geometries as well as with coaxial cable arrays. To obtain some information on the waveform distortion caused by the line-junction discontinuities alone, ideal switches (avalanche transistors) were used to switch the charged lines. The analysis of Eccleshall and Temperley, for the general case of two-line systems and Eccleshall, for three-line systems were verified in these experiments. For the case of impedance ratios which result in repetitive waveforms, these studies suggest that the effects of the line-junction discontinuities alone will not be severe enough to prohibit a limited number of beam passes when transmission-line cavities are used as the acceleration module in a recirculating linear-induction accelerator.