Suppression of Beam Breakup in Linear Induction Accelerators by Stagger Tuning

Beam breakup (BBU) in linear induction accelerators (LIA) is suppressed by the solenoidal magnetic-field focusing of the electron beam. Amplification of BBU instability can also be significantly reduced by using cells having different transverse impedances. This so-called “stagger tuning” occurs naturally on one of the LIAs used for flash radiography at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In this article, we use computer simulations to demonstrate how the natural stagger tuning functions, and how it might be used on advanced LIAs under consideration. Other means for engineering stagger tuning into LIAs are also investigated. Results of these simulations show promise for mitigation of BBU by reduction of the effective impedance, thereby relieving the necessity for extraordinarily strong solenoidal fields for designs with a large number of cells.