RF quadrupole particle accelerator

An ion implanter, comprising:

• an ion source, to generate a continuous ion beam;
• a buncher, disposed downstream of the ion source, and arranged to transform the continuous ion beam into a bunched ion beam;
• and
• a linear accelerator, downstream of the buncher and comprising a plurality of accelerations stages, wherein a given stage of the plurality of acceleration stages comprises:
• a drift tube assembly, the drift tube assembly comprising a plurality of drift tubes, defining a triple gap configuration, and arranged to accelerate the bunched ion beam along a beam path;
• a resonator, to output an RF signal to the drift tube assembly;
• and
• an RF quadrupole triplet, connected to the drift tube assembly, and arranged circumferentially around the beam path, the RF quadrupole triplet comprising:
• a first quadrupole formed on a downstream portion of a first grounded drift tube and an upstream portion of a first powered drift tube;
• a second quadrupole formed on a downstream portion of the first powered drift tube and an upstream portion of a second powered drift tube;
• and
• a third quadrupole formed on a downstream portion of the second powered drift tube and an upstream portion of a second grounded drift tube,
• wherein a downstream surface of the first grounded drift tube forms a complementary match to an upstream surface of the first powered drift tube, wherein a downstream surface of the first powered drift tube forms a complementary match to an upstream surface of the second powered drift tube, and wherein a downstream surface of the second powered drift tube forms a complementary match to an upstream surface of the second grounded drift tube.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a drift tube assembly, the drift tube assembly comprising a plurality of drift tubes arranged to accelerate and transmit an ion beam along a beam path;
• a resonator, to output an RF signal to the drift tube assembly;
• and
• a quadrupole arrangement, arranged circumferentially around the beam path, wherein the quadrupole arrangement is integrated into a surface of the plurality of drift tubes of the drift tube assembly, and wherein the quadrupole arrangement defines a sinusoidal shape or an elliptical shape.