Electron Beam Dynamics in the DARHT-II Linear Induction Accelerator

The DARHT-II linear induction accelerator (LIA) accelerates a 2-kA electron beam to more than 17 MeV. The beam pulse has a greater than 1.5-microsecond flattop region over which the electron kinetic energy is constant to within 1%. The beam dynamics are diagnosed with 21 beam-position monitors located throughout the injector, accelerator, and after the accelerator exit, where we also have beam imaging diagnostics. We discuss the tuning of the injector and accelerator, and present data for the resulting beam dynamics. We discuss the tuning procedures and other methods used to minimize beam motion, which is undesirable for its application as a bremsstrahlung source for multi-pulse radiography of exlosively driven hydrodynamic experiments. We also present beam stability measurements, which we relate to previous stability experiments at lower current and energy.