WAKEFIELD BREAKDOWN TEST OF A DIAMOND-LOADED ACCELERATING STRUCTURE

Diamond has been proposed as a dielectric material for dielectric loaded accelerating (DLA) structures [1-3]. It has a very low microwave loss tangent, the highest available thermoconductive coefficient and high RF breakdown field. In this paper we report on progress towards wakefield breakdown test of diamond-loaded rectangular accelerating structure. We expect to achieve field levels exceeding 100 MV/m in the structure using the 100 nC beam at the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator Facility. Single crystal diamond plates produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are used in the structure. A groove is cut on the diamond to enhance the field. Electric field will yield up to 0.5 GV/m on the diamond surface to test it for breakdown. A surface analysis of the diamond is performed before and after the beam test.