High power accelerator R and D at the NRL 11.424-GHz magnicon facility

An 11.424-GHz magnicon amplifier has been jointly developed by the Naval Research Laboratory and Omega-P, Inc. as an alternative technology to klystrons for powering a future X-band linear collider. This paper will discuss its background, operating principles, and results to date, as well its present status as part of a facility for collaborative research on accelerator-related technologies that require high-power 11.424-GHz radiation. Two collaborative research programs are currently under way using the magnicon output. The first, a collaboration with Omega-P, Inc. and the Institute of Applied Physics, is investigating active microwave pulse compressors using plasma switch tubes. The second, a collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory and SLAC, is investigating dielectric-loaded accelerating (DLA) structures, with the ultimate goal of developing a compact DLA accelerator