The Next Linear Collider Klystron Development Program

Klystrons capable of 75 MW output power at 11.4 GHz have been under development at SLAC for the last decade. The work has been part of the program to realize all the components necessary for the construction of the Next Linear Collider (NLC). The effort has produced a family of solenoid-focused 50 MW klystrons, which are currently powering a 0.5 GeV test accelerator at SLAC and several test stands, where high power components are evaluated and fundamental research is performed studying rf breakdown and dark current production. Continuing development has resulted in a Periodic Permanent Magnet (PPM) focused 50 MW klystron, tested at SLAC and subsequently contracted for manufacture by industry in England and Japan. A 75 MW version of that PPM klystron was built at SLAC and reached 75 MW, with 2.8 microsecond pulses. Based on this design, a prototype 75 MW klystron, designed for low-cost manufacture, is currently under development at SLAC, and will eventually be procured from industry in modest quantities for advanced NLC tests. Beyond these developments, the design of Multiple Beam Klystrons (MBKs) is under study at SLAC. MBKs offer the possibility of considerably lower modulator costs by producing comparable power to the klystrons nowmore » available, at much lower voltages.« less