Design of a compact integrated high-average power superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) electron beam source

Abstract There exists a need for reliable, high-power electron sources for applications including those in discovery science, security, medical and industrial engineering. Today, there are many examples of high-average-power electron sources, but they are not, for instance, simultaneously compact, highly efficient, and available at a reasonable cost. Exploiting recent advances in superconducting, radio-frequency (SRF) cavities and RF power sources as well as innovative solutions for the SRF gun and cathode system, we have developed a design concept for a truly compact, SRF, high-average power electron linac source integrating a thermionic cathode system. Potentially capable of 50 kW average power and continuous-wave operation, this accelerator design will produce electron beams with energies up to 10 MeV. In this paper, we present in detail the electromagnetic design results of our 9-cell accelerating structure with its integrated, thermionic cathode structure.