Low-β SC linacs: past, present, and future

This paper is a general review of superconducting low-β technology and applications from its beginning in 1969 into the near-term future. The emphasis is on studies of accelerating resonators and on SC linacs that boost the energy of heavy-ion beams from tandem electrostatic accelerators used for nuclear-physics research. Other topics are positive-ion SC injectors to replace tandems and the need for accelerating structures with β outside of the present proven range, 0.008 < β < 0.2