Development of a Prototype Superconducting Radio-Frequency Multicell Cavity for Compact, Conduction-Cooled Accelerators
Abstract
Jefferson Lab and General Atomics are jointly advancing compact, high-power irradiation systems capable of delivering electron-beam powers in the hundreds of kilowatts based on superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) technology. A critical step toward deploying SRF accelerators in industrial environments is replacing traditional liquid-helium cryogenic systems with conduction-cooled cryomodules powered by commercial cryocoolers. This paper reports recent progress in the design, fabrication, and testing of a prototype three-cell SRF cavity developed at Jefferson Lab and evaluated in a dedicated horizontal test cryostat at General Atomics. Peak surface magnetic fields up to 18.4\,mT, corresponding to accelerating gradients of approximately 4.3\,MV/m, were achieved in one of the cells. The results provide key insights into cavity preparation, thin-film coating, mechanical robustness, and cryogenic integration, offering guidance for the continued maturation of compact, conduction-cooled SRF accelerators for industrial irradiation applications.
Versions
Related
- Physics of stabilization and dynamic control of CW magnetrons for superconducting accelerators
- Scaling laws for contamination traversal times during vacuum breaks in superconducting accelerators
- Controlling external injection in laser-plasma accelerators with terahertz frequency bunch manipulation
- Generalized conditions for odd-frequency pairing in superconducting systems
- Resetting a Superconducting Qubit with a Compact Colder Resistive Dissipator below the Qubit Frequency
BibTeX
@misc{vennekate2026development,
title = {{Development of a Prototype Superconducting Radio-Frequency Multicell Cavity for Compact, Conduction-Cooled Accelerators}},
author = {J. Vennekate and J. Armstrong and G. Ciovati and K. Harding and A. O'Brien and P. Owen and U. Pudasaini and D. Packard and D. Vollmer and T. Schultheiss},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.28870},
eprint = {2610.28870},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28870},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Development of a Prototype Superconducting Radio-Frequency Multicell Cavity for Compact, Conduction-Cooled Accelerators
AU - J. Vennekate
AU - J. Armstrong
AU - G. Ciovati
AU - K. Harding
AU - A. O'Brien
AU - P. Owen
AU - U. Pudasaini
AU - D. Packard
AU - D. Vollmer
AU - T. Schultheiss
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.28870
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28870
AB - Jefferson Lab and General Atomics are jointly advancing compact, high-power irradiation systems capable of delivering electron-beam powers in the hundreds of kilowatts based on superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) technology. A critical step toward deploying SRF accelerators in industrial environments is replacing traditional liquid-helium cryogenic systems with conduction-cooled cryomodules powered by commercial cryocoolers. This paper reports recent progress in the design, fabrication, and testing of a prototype three-cell SRF cavity developed at Jefferson Lab and evaluated in a dedicated horizontal test cryostat at General Atomics. Peak surface magnetic fields up to 18.4\,mT, corresponding to accelerating gradients of approximately 4.3\,MV/m, were achieved in one of the cells. The results provide key insights into cavity preparation, thin-film coating, mechanical robustness, and cryogenic integration, offering guidance for the continued maturation of compact, conduction-cooled SRF accelerators for industrial irradiation applications.
ER -