The Rhodotron, a New High-energy, High-power, Cw Electron-accelerator

Over the last years, a new kind of industrial electron accelerator has been conjointly developed by the French Atomic Energy Agency (CEA) and IBA (Ion Beam Applications) in Belgium. This accelerator, called the Rhodotron, is a recirculating accelerator, operated in CW. It uses low frequencies (metric waves), that make possible the generation of continuous high-energy high-power beams. The construction of the first industrial model of the Rhodotron began in January 1992. It is a 10 MeV, 100 kW beam power unit, with an additional beam exit at 5 MeV. A target is also being developed in order to allow an efficient conversion of the electrons into X-rays. The different subsystems of this machine are now being assembled and tested. The first beam tests are scheduled for the autumn of 1993. A complete report presenting the state of development of this prototype is included in this paper.