LINEAR ACCELERATOR SYSTEM WITH STABLE INTERLEAVED AND INTERMITTENT PULSING

摘要

A linac-based X-ray system for cargo scanning and imaging applications uses linac design, RF power control, beam current control, and beam current pulse duration control to provide stable sequences of interleaved pulses having different energy levels, for example alternating 4 MeV and 6 MeV pulses or other energies where the difference in levels is at least approximately 1 MeV and less than approximately 5 MeV. The pulse repetition rate can be 100-400 pulses per second or more. In an embodiment, a cool down calculation is combined with automatic frequency control to provide stable energy and dose per pulse even upon restarting of pulsing after an “off” period of indeterminate duration.

主权项

1. An X-ray system for providing alternating X-ray pulses of first and second energies with controlled dose per pulse comprising
a linear accelerator having resonance with a bandwidth, a magnetron for supplying as an output RF energy to the linear accelerator at alternating first and second power levels with corresponding first and second frequencies, an electron gun driver, operating independently of the magnetron, for supplying to the linac alternating pulses of first and second beam currents at times substantially corresponding to the alternating first and second RF power levels, and wherein the bandwidth of the linac resonance is sufficiently broad to allow coupling of the magnetron output to the linac at the first and second RF power levels such that the first and second energies of the X-ray pulses are at least 1 MeV apart and less than 5 MeV apart with controlled dose per pulse.