Low-loss electron beam transport in a high-power, electrostatic free-electron maser

At the FOM Institute for Plasma Physics ''Rijnhuizen'', The Netherlands, the commissioning of a high-power, electrostatic free-electron maser is in progress. The design target is the generation of 1 MW microwave power in the frequency range 130-260 GHz. The foreseen application of this kind of device is as a power source for electron cyclotron applications on magnetically confined plasmas. The device is driven by a high-power electron beam. For long-pulse operation a low loss current is essential. A 3-A electron beam has been accelerated to energies ranging from 1.35 to 1.7 MeV and transported through the undulator at current losses below 0.02%. Further, it was shown that the beam line accepts an electron energy variation of 5% with fixed beam optics. This is essential for rapid tuning of the microwave frequency, over 10%. Electron beam simulations have shown to be remarkably accurate both for the prediction of the lens settings and for the intercepted current. The operational settings of the beam line which give the highest current transmission are within a few percent of the simulated values.