The effect of accelerating gap geometry on the beam breakup instability in linear induction accelerators

The electron beam in a linear induction accelerator is generally susceptible to growth of the transverse beam breakup instability. In this paper we analyze a new technique for reducing the transverse coupling between the beam and the accelerating cavities, thereby reducing beam breakup growth. The basic idea is that the most worrisome cavity modes can be cutoff by a short section of coaxial transmission line inserted between the cavity structure and the accelerating gap region. We have used the three‐dimensional simulation code SOS to analyze this problem. In brief, we find that the technique works, provided that the lowest TE mode cutoff frequency in the coaxial line is greater than the frequency of the most worrisome TM mode of the accelerating cavity.