Progress at SLAC on high-power rf pulse compression

Rf pulse compression is a technique for augmenting the peak power output of a klystron (typically 50--100 MW) to obtain the high peak power required to drive a linear collider at a high accelerating gradient (typically 200 MW/m is required for a gradient of 100 MV/m). The SLED pulse compression system, with a power gain of about 2.6, has been operational on the SLAC linac for more than a decade. Recently, a binary pulse-compression system with a power gain of about 5.2 has been tested up to an output power of 120 MW. Further high-power tests are in progress. Our current effort is focused on prototyping a so-called SLED-II pulse-compression system with a power gain of four. Over-moded TE[sub 01]-mode circular waveguide components, some with novel technical features, are used to reduce losses at the 11.4-GHz operating frequency.