First beam at DARHT-II

The second axis of the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydro-Test (DARHT) facility will provide up to four short (<100 ns) radiation pulses for flash radiography of high-explosive driven implosion experiments. To accomplish this the DARHT-I1 linear induction accelerator (LIA) will produce a 2-kA electron beam with 18-MeV kinetic energy, constant to within 2 0.5% for 2-ps. A fast kicker will cleave four short pulses out of the 2-ps flattop, with the bulk of the beam diverted into a dump. The short pulses will then be transported to the final-focus magnet, and focused onto a tantalum target for conversion to bremsstrahlung pulses for radiography. DARHT-II is a collaborative effort between Los Alamos, Livermore, and Berkeley National Laboratories. The first tests of the second axis accelerator, described herein, were performed to demonstrate the technology and to meet the performance requirements for closing out the DARHT-II construction project.