Experimental Studies of W-Band Accelerator Structures at High Field

A high-gradient electron accelerator is desired for high-energy physics research, where frequency scalings of breakdown and trapping of itinerant beamline particles dictates operation of the accelerator at short wavelengths. The first results of design and test of a high-gradient mm-wave linac with an operating frequency at 91.392 GHz (W-band) are presented. A novel approach to particle acceleration is presented employing a planar, dielectric lined waveguide used for particle acceleration. The traveling wave fields in the planar dielectric accelerator (PDA) are analyzed for an idealized structure, along with a circuit equivalent model used for understanding the structure as a microwave circuit. Along with the W-band accelerator structures, other components designed and tested are high power rf windows, high power attenuators, and a high power squeeze-type phase shifter. The design of the accelerator and its components where eased with the aide of numerical simulations using a finite-difference electromagnetic field solver. Manufacturing considerations of the small, delicate mm-wave components and the steps taken to reach a robust fabrication process are detailed. These devices were characterized under low power using a two-port vector network analyzer to verify tune and match, including measurements of the structures' fields using a bead-pull. The measurements are compared withmore » theory throughout. Addition studies of the W-band structures were performed under high power utilizing a 11.424 GHz electron linac as a current source. Test results include W-band power levels of 200 kW, corresponding to fields in the PDA of over 20 MV/m, a higher gradient than any collider. Planar accelerator devices naturally have an rf quadrupole component of the accelerating field. Presented for the first time are the measurements of this effect.« less