Overvoltage protection of accelerator components

A protection system for an accelerator comprising:

• a plurality of DC power supplies configured to provide a plurality of voltage levels up to a desired voltage level;
• a plurality of varistors, wherein each varistor of the plurality of varistors is connected in parallel with a DC power supply;
• and
• an acceleration tube electrically connected to the plurality of DC power supplies and configured to accelerate a charged particle, the acceleration tube comprising a plurality of stages, each stage comprising:
• a plurality of electrodes, wherein one electrode of the plurality of electrodes is electrically coupled to a voltage level of the plurality of voltage levels;
• a plurality of insulators;
• and
• a plurality of water resistors configured to discharge energy in response to an overvoltage event and grade voltage across the plurality of insulators;
• wherein the plurality of insulators and the plurality of water resistors are electrically in parallel.

A method for protecting components of an accelerator comprising:

• providing, via a plurality of DC power supplies, a plurality of voltage levels up to a desired voltage level;
• accelerating, via an acceleration tube electrically connected to the plurality of DC power supplies, one or more charged particles, wherein the acceleration tube comprises a plurality of stages, each stage comprising:
• a plurality of electrodes, wherein one electrode of the plurality of electrodes is electrically coupled to a voltage level of the plurality of voltage levels;
• and
• a plurality of varistors configured to discharge energy in response to an overvoltage event;
• wherein the plurality of electrodes and the plurality of varistors are electrically coupled to each other and arranged in an alternating fashion;
• wherein each stage comprises a plurality of insulators, wherein each insulator is arranged in parallel with a varistor;
• and
• discharging, via the plurality of varistors, energy stored in at least one capacitor within the plurality of DC power supplies.