Speaker
Description
Now that superconducting RF accelerators have become the standard for discovery science facilities, it is time for them to be applied to applications in the industrial sector. As part of its REDUCE objective, the Office of Radiological Security of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) supports efforts to reduce reliance on radioisotopes through the development of alternative sources of radiation for applications such as the sterilization of medical devices. X-ray sources with dose rates comparable to large panoramic gamma irradiators using cobalt-60 require electron beams of 100s of kilowatts. Other applications including environmental remediation, sewage and wastewater treatment also require large amounts of beam power. Accelerator systems for these industrial applications must be compact, reliable, and simple to operate.
A key element for compact systems is the elimination of liquid cryogens and the related liquification infrastructure. This requires careful management of the heat budget of the accelerator system so that cryocoolers, which are available commercially, can be used to maintain superconducting temperatures.
Fermilab is developing a compact SRF electron accelerator utilizing four enabling technologies (in bold, below) to allow the use of superconducting accelerators in industrial applications. A 1.6 MeV, 20-40 kW prototype is currently being assembled. We will present the results of acceptance testing of the various components of the system. These include: a 50 kW RF power coupler with very low heat conduction from the ambient to the cryogenic area; an integrated electron RF gun; conduction cooling and commercial cryocoolers. The most critical technology we will report is the niobium tin coating of the inner surface of the accelerating cavity to allow operation at a temperature within the capacity of the cryocoolers.
Other compact, stand-alone efforts are underway at Jefferson Lab and at SLAC to address various areas of the industrial application space. These will also be summarized.
Successful operation of these prototype systems will validate the compact SRF concept that will be able to provide the 100s of kilowatts necessary for the applications noted above.
