Continuous rotating-wave electron beam accelerator

A rotating wave electron beam accelerator including:

• a microwave resonator;
• a particle generator coupled to the resonator, the particle generator injecting charged particles into the resonator, said injected particles following a trajectory within said resonator;
• a magnetic field generator coupled to the resonator, the magnetic field generator producing a magnetic field that is static in a direction axial to said particle trajectory;
• and
• a radio frequency source coupled to the resonator, the radio frequency source inducing within the resonator, a resonant circularly polarized microwave field exhibiting a transverse magnetic rotating wave mode having no axial periodicity,
• wherein the resonant microwave field has a frequency and the resonator has a length that is independent of the frequency of the resonant microwave field.

A rotating wave electron beam accelerator including:

• a microwave resonator;
• a particle generator coupled to the resonator, the particle generator injecting charged particles into the resonator said injected particles following a trajectory within said resonator;
• a magnetic field generator coupled to the resonator, the magnetic field generator producing a magnetic field that is static in a direction axial to said particle trajectory;
• and
• a radio frequency source coupled to the resonator, the radio frequency source inducing within the resonator, a resonant circularly polarized microwave field exhibiting a transverse magnetic rotating wave mode having no axial periodicity,
• wherein the magnetic field generator comprises a permanent magnet that achieves a magnetic field profile for acceleration and extraction of a beam comprising said particles, and
• wherein the rotating microwave field has a frequency, a free electron moving under the presence of said magnetic field with a velocity perpendicular to the magnetic field will travel in a circle with an orbiting cyclotron frequency, and further including means coupled to the magnetic field generator for adjusting the magnetic field so that the cyclotron frequency equals the frequency of the rotating microwave field.

A method of producing an accelerated charged particle beam comprising:

• (a) injecting charged particles into a field system comprised of an axial static magnetic field and a rotating microwave field exhibiting a transverse, circularly polarized mode having no axial periodicity;
• and
• (b) both accelerating and spiraling the particles with the rotating microwave field and the axial static field to produce an accelerated beam;
• and
• further including the step of providing an axial magnetic field profile exhibiting a sharp variation.

Apparatus for producing an accelerated charged particle beam comprising:

• means for generating a resonant rotating microwave field exhibiting a transverse magnetic rotating wave mode having no axial periodicity;
• means for generating an axial static magnetic field exhibiting a non-uniform profile;
• and
• means for injecting charged particles into said microwave and magnetic fields,
• wherein the microwave and magnetic fields, acting together, accelerate and spiral the injected particles to produce a continuously rotating accelerated beam of charged particles.

A tool providing a housing having the following combination of elements disposed at least in part therein:

• a microwave resonator;
• a pulsed particle generator coupled to the resonator, the particle generator injecting charged particles into the resonator;
• a magnetic field generator coupled to the resonator, said magnetic field generator providing an axial static magnetic field;
• a frequency controlled radio frequency source coupled to the resonator, the radio frequency source inducing within the resonator, a resonant circularly polarized microwave field exhibiting a transverse magnetic rotating wave mode having no axial periodicity, wherein the static magnetic field and the resonant circularly polarized microwave field, acting together, accelerate and spiral the injected charged particles to produce a continuously rotating accelerated beam of charged particles;
• and
• a pulser circuit coupled to the particle generator and to the radio frequency source, said pulser providing short electrical pulses to the particle generator and to the radio frequency source.