Commissioning of Dragon-Ⅰ Linear Induction Accelerator

This paper describes the subsystems commissioning process of Dragon-Ⅰ which include the injector,the pulsed power system,the transport system and the Bremsstrahlung target.The experimental results and further work are presented.

Monte Carlo simulations for 20 MV X-ray spectrum reconstruction of a linear induction accelerator

To study the spectrum reconstruction of the 20 MV X-ray generated by the Dragon-I linear induction accelerator, the Monte Carlo method is applied to simulate the attenuations of the X-ray in the attenuators of different thicknesses and thus provide the transmission data. As is known, the spectrum estimation from transmission data is an ill-conditioned problem. The method based on iterative perturbations is employed to derive the X-ray spectra, where initial guesses are used to start the process. This algorithm takes into account not only the minimization of the differences between the measured and the calculated transmissions but also the smoothness feature of the spectrum function. In this work, various filter materials are put to use as the attenuator, and the condition for an accurate and robust solution of the X-ray spectrum calculation is demonstrated. The influences of the scattering photons within different intervals of emergence angle on the X-ray spectrum reconstruction are also analyzed.

Time-resolved energy spectrum measurement of a linear induction accelerator with the magnetic analyzer

We recently set up a time-resolved optical beam diagnostic system. Using this system, we measured the high current electron beam energy in the accelerator under construction. This paper introduces the principle of the diagnostic system, describes the setup, and shows the results. A bending beam line was designed using an existing magnetic analyzer with a 300 mm-bending radius and a 60° bending angle at hard-edge approximation. Calculations show that the magnitude of the beam energy is about 18 MeV, and the energy spread is within 2%. Our results agree well with the initial estimates deduced from the diode voltage approach.

Axial electric wake field inside the induction gap exited by the intense electron beam

While an intense electron beam passes through the accelerating gaps of a linear induction accelerator, a strong wake field will be excited. In this paper a relatively simple model is established based on the interaction between the transverse magnetic wake field and the electron beam, and the numerical calculation in succession generates a magnetic wake field distribution along the accelerator and along the beam pulse as well. The axial electric wake field is derived based on the relation between field components of a resonant mode. According to some principles in existence, the influence of this field on the high voltage properties of the induction gap is analyzed. The Dragon-I accelerator is taken as an example, and its maximum electric wake field is about 17 kV/cm, which means the effect of the wake field is noticeable.

Instantaneous electron beam emittance measurement system based on the optical transition radiation principle

One kind of instantaneous electron beam emittance measurement system based on the optical transition radiation principle and double imaging optical method has been set up. It is mainly adopted in the test for the intense electron-beam produced by a linear induction accelerator. The system features two characteristics. The first one concerns the system synchronization signal triggered by the following edge of the main output waveform from a Blumlein switch. The synchronous precision of about 1 ns between the electron beam and the image capture time can be reached in this way so that the electron beam emittance at the desired time point can be obtained. The other advantage of the system is the ability to obtain the beam spot and beam divergence in one measurement so that the calculated result is the true beam emittance at that time, which can explain the electron beam condition. It provides to be a powerful beam diagnostic method for a 2.5 kA, 18.5 MeV, 90 ns （FWHM） electron beam pulse produced by Dragon I. The ability of the instantaneous measurement is about 3 ns and it can measure the beam emittance at any time point during one beam pulse. A series of beam emittances have been obtained for Dragon I. The typical beam spot is 9.0 mm （FWHM） in diameter and the corresponding beam divergence is about 10.5 mrad.

Spot size diagnostics for flash radiographic X-ray sources at LAPA

Spot size is one of the parameters to characterize the performance of a radiographic X-ray source. It determines the degree of blurring due to magnification directly. In recent years, a variety of measurement methods have been used to diagnose X-ray spot size at Laboratory of Accelerator Physics and Application (LAPA). Computer simulations and experiments showed that using a rolled-edge to measure the spot size are more accurate, and the intensity distribution of X-ray source was obtained by a device with a square aperture. Experimental and simulation results on a flash X-ray source at our laboratory are presented and discussed in this paper. In addition, a new method for time resolved diagnostics of X-ray spot size is introduced too.

Experimental comparison of various techniques for spot size measurement of high-energy X-ray sources

In flash-radiography experiments, the quality of the acquired image strongly depends on the focal size of the X-ray source spot. A variety of techniques based on imaging of the pinhole, the slit and the rollbar are adopted to measure the focal spot size of the Dragon-I linear induction accelerator. The image of the pinhole provides a two-dimensional distribution of the X-ray spot, while those of the slit and the rollbar give a line-spread distribution and an edge-spread distribution, respectively. The spot size characterized by the full-width at half-maximum and that characterized by the LANL definition are calculated for comparison.

Conceptual design of an intense positron source based on an LIA

Accelerator based positron sources are widely used due to their high intensity. Most of these accelerators are RF accelerators. An LIA （linear induction accelerator） is a kind of high current pulsed accelerator used for radiography. A conceptual design of an intense pulsed positron source based on an LIA is presented in the paper. One advantage of an LIA is its pulsed power being higher than conventional accelerators, which means a higher amount of primary electrons for positron generations per pulse. Another advantage of an LIA is that it is very suitable to decelerate the positron bunch generated by bremsstrahlung pair process due to its ability to adjustably shape the voltage pulse. By implementing LIA cavities to decelerate the positron bunch before it is moderated, the positron yield could be greatly increased. These features may make the LIA based positron source become a high intensity pulsed positron source.

Spot size measurement of a flash-radiography source using the pinhole imaging method

The spot size of the X-ray source is a key parameter of a flash-radiography facility, and is usually quoted as an evaluation of the resolving power. The pinhole imaging technique is applied to measure the spot size of the Dragon-I linear induction accelerator, by which a two-dimensional spatial distribution of the source spot is obtained. Experimental measurements are performed to measure the spot image when the transportation and focusing of the electron beam are tuned by adjusting the currents of solenoids in the downstream section. The spot size of full-width at half maximum and that defined from the spatial frequency at half peak value of the modulation transfer function are calculated and discussed.