Electron accelerators driven by modulated intense relativistic electron beams

This paper addresses the development of a new high-voltage-gradient linear accelerator. This accelerator was energized by a modulated intense relativistic electron beam with power in the multigigawatt range. A 0.2-cm-diam electron beam emerged from the accelerator with a peak current of {~}200 A and peak kinetic energy {≥}60 MeV. The length of the accelerating structure was 1 m. Simple scaling laws suggest that similar accelerators with much higher average electric fields can be built.