Potential of cyclotron based accelerators for energy production and transmutation

PSI operates a 590 MeV‐cyclotron facility for high intensity proton beams for the production of intense beams of pions and muons. The facility, commissioned in 1974, has been partially upgraded and is now operated routinely at a beam current of 1 mA, which corresponds to a beam power of 0.6 MW. At this current, the beam losses in the cyclotron are about 0.02%. By the end of 1995 we expect to have 1.5 mA of protons. Extensive theoretical investigations on beam current limitations in isochronous cyclotrons were undertaken. They show that the longitudinal space charge effects dominate. Based on our experience we present a preliminary design of a cyclotron scheme that could produce a 10 MW beam as a driver for an ‘‘energy amplifier’’ as proposed by C. Rubbia and his collaborators. The expected efficiency for the conversion of AC into beam power would be about 50% (for the RF‐systems only). The beam losses in the cyclotron are expected to be a few μA, leading to a tolerable activation level.