The Stanford Mark II Linear Accelerator

The development of the Mark II electron linear accelerator, the second linear accelerator constructed at Stanford University, is described. Primarily intended to provide an intermediate milepost on the way toward the eventual construction of a 1-Bev machine, it was designed to be a prototype of one of the many sections of the larger accelerator. Electron energies up to nearly 40 Mev have been obtained, and peak beam currents of about 10 ma in 1-μsec pulses. The theoretical design and experimental testing procedures developed in constructing the loaded wave guide are outlined. A brief description of the auxiliary equipment, including a multi-megawatt klystron amplifier, is given. Operating characteristics of the accelerator are summarized. The machine has been in use since 1950 for experimentation in electron physics.