BEAM POWER TECHNOLOGY, INC.

Beam Power Technology, a high-tech startup company, will use its innovative, patented elliptic beam technology to develop a new class of energy efficient, higher power, lower cost inductive output tubes. Radio-frequency (rf) amplifiers are used for a multitude of purposes. The subject of this grant is an Inductive Output Tube (IOT), a very high-power radio-frequency amplifier for use in driving accelerators for nuclear and high energy physics research. High-power amplifiers used for this purpose consume very large amounts of electrical power and are extremely expensive. At present, the two types of devices chosen for accelerators in physics research applications are conventional klystrons and IOTs. These devices both use a circular electron beam as their source of power. Conventional circular-beam IOTs provide lower operating voltage, smaller size, and higher-efficiency (use less electrical power) than a klystron, however, their maximum output power is limited to less than 100 kilowatts. Beam Power Technology (BPT), Inc. proposes to develop an innovative elliptic-beam IOT using its proprietary elliptic electron beam technology to meet the requirement for a 140 kW peak power IOT. It is anticipated that the BPT elliptic-beam IOT will overcome the current IOT power limitation, and that the elliptic-beam IOT will be as efficient as the conventional circular-beam IOT. In Phase I, BPT successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed elliptic-beam IOT with theoretical analyses, 3D computer simulations, and concept design, including the theoretical modeling and concept design of a gridded elliptic diode electron gun, concept design of the elliptic-beam system, 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the elliptic-beam IOT interaction, and concept design of the rf output cavity and collector. In Phase II, BPT proposes to experimentally demonstrate a 140 kW peak power, 10% duty, 402.5 MHz elliptic-beam IOT. The Phase II technical objectives are: 1) Integrated modeling and design studies of the proposed elliptic-beam IOT; 2) Refined concept design; 3) Development of concept design drawings; 4) Development of production drawings; 5) Fabrication of the proposed elliptic-beam IOT; 6) Experimental test and data analyses; and 7) Report of Phase II findings. The Phase II efforts will be carried out under close consultation with National Laboratories and the support of a consortium of vendors and suppliers specializing in the manufacturing of microwave devices. If successful, the research and development in this SBIR project will lead to a new class of higher power IOTs, capable of extending the reach of IOTs into higher power territory. The elliptic-beam IOT will attract users of conventional round beam IOTs and klystrons for high power rf sources below 1.3 GHz, as they are cheaper and use less power then klystrons. Targeted users of elliptic-beam IOTs will not only be the physics accelerator community but also the high power digital television broadcast community where IOTs have been widely used. Success in this project will not only achieve the development of a high power IOT, but serve as a critical milestone in the demonstration of the company's core technology. Once success is achieved through this project, the technology can be directly applied with similar benefits to other substantial markets and application areas such as commercial satellite communications, military radar, missile guidance, communications and advanced weaponry; accelerators for radiation cancer therapy; x-ray sources for medical diagnostics as well as material analysis and Homeland Security; and industrial processes such as cutting, welding, heating, curing, and ION implantation, among others.

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