Generation of High Power Short Rf Pulses using an X-Band Metallic Power Extractor Driven by High Charge Multi-Bunch Train

Short pulse two-beam acceleration (TBA) is a structure wakefield acceleration (SWFA) approach aiming to achieve gradient above 250 MV/m using rf pulses less than 20 ns. An X-band 11.7 GHz metallic power extractor has been developed as the power source to test accelerating structures in this extreme regime. The power extractor is designed to be driven by high charge bunches separated by 769.2 ps (9 times the X-band period) on an L-band 1.3 GHz beamline. In the recent experiment, ~280 MW rf pulses with 3 ns flat-top have been measured by a coaxial rf pickup when driven by 8-bunch trains with a total charge of ~500 nC. The power level is ~50% lower than the theoretical prediction and simulation. Experimental investigation suggests that the missing power was mainly caused by the multipacting issue inside the rf pickup, which could be eliminated by a newly-designed directional coupler.
Proceedings of the 10th Int. Particle Accelerator Conf., IPAC2019, Melbourne, Australia