rf quadrupole linac: a new low-energy accelerator

A new concept in low-energy particle accelerators, the radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linac, is currently being developed at the Los Alamos National Scientific Laboratory. In this new linear accelerating structure both the focusing and accelerating forces are produced by the rf fields. It can accept a high-current, low-velocity dc ion beam and bunch it with a high capture efficiency. The performance of this structure as a low-energy linear accelerator has been verified with the successful construction of a proton RFQ linac. This test structure has accelerated 38 mA of protons from 100 keV to 640 keV in 1.1 meters with a capture efficiency greater than 80%. In this paper a general description of the RFQ linac and an outline of the basic RFQ linac design procedure are presented in addition to the experimental results from the test accelerator. Finally, several applications of this new accelerator are discussed