Compact cold, weak-focusing, superconducting cyclotron
First Claim
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1. A compact, cold, weak-focusing superconducting cyclotron comprising:
- at least two superconducting coils, centered around a central axis with outer surfaces remote from the central axis, wherein the coils are on opposite sides of a median acceleration plane and have opposed median-acceleration-plane-facing surfaces;
a magnetic yoke surrounding the coils and in physical contact with the coils across the outer surface of each coil and across the median-acceleration-plane-facing surface of each coil to substantially reduce or eliminate strain on the coils due to decentering forces and without an intervening cryostat between the magnetic yoke and the coils, wherein the magnetic yoke contains an acceleration chamber, wherein the magnetic yoke is in thermal contact with the superconducting coils, wherein the median acceleration plane extends through the acceleration chamber, and wherein the superconducting coils and the physically coupled magnetic yoke are configured to generate a magnetic field that reaches at least 6 Tesla in the median acceleration plane;
a cryogenic refrigerator physically and thermally coupled with the superconducting coils and with the magnetic yoke; and
a cryostat mounted outside the magnetic yoke and containing the coils and the magnetic yoke inside a thermally insulated volume in which the coils and the magnetic yoke can be maintained at cryogenic temperatures by the cryogenic refrigerator.
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Abstract
A compact, cold, weak-focusing superconducting cyclotron can include at least two superconducting coils on opposite sides of a median acceleration plane. A magnetic yoke surrounds the coils and contains an acceleration chamber. The magnetic yoke is in thermal contact with the superconducting coils, and the median acceleration plane extends through the acceleration chamber. A cryogenic refrigerator is thermally coupled both with the superconducting coils and with the magnetic yoke.
31 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A compact, cold, weak-focusing superconducting cyclotron comprising:
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at least two superconducting coils, centered around a central axis with outer surfaces remote from the central axis, wherein the coils are on opposite sides of a median acceleration plane and have opposed median-acceleration-plane-facing surfaces; a magnetic yoke surrounding the coils and in physical contact with the coils across the outer surface of each coil and across the median-acceleration-plane-facing surface of each coil to substantially reduce or eliminate strain on the coils due to decentering forces and without an intervening cryostat between the magnetic yoke and the coils, wherein the magnetic yoke contains an acceleration chamber, wherein the magnetic yoke is in thermal contact with the superconducting coils, wherein the median acceleration plane extends through the acceleration chamber, and wherein the superconducting coils and the physically coupled magnetic yoke are configured to generate a magnetic field that reaches at least 6 Tesla in the median acceleration plane; a cryogenic refrigerator physically and thermally coupled with the superconducting coils and with the magnetic yoke; and a cryostat mounted outside the magnetic yoke and containing the coils and the magnetic yoke inside a thermally insulated volume in which the coils and the magnetic yoke can be maintained at cryogenic temperatures by the cryogenic refrigerator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for ion acceleration comprising:
- employing a cyclotron comprising;
a) at least two superconducting coils, centered around a central axis with outer surfaces remote from the central axis, wherein the coils are on opposite sides of a median acceleration plane and have opposed median-acceleration-plane-facing surfaces; b) a magnetic yoke surrounding the coils, and in physical contact with the coils across the outer surface of each coil and across the median-acceleration-plane-facing surface of each coil to substantially reduce or eliminate strain on the coils due to decentering forces and without an intervening cryostat between the magnetic yoke and the coils, wherein the magnetic yoke contains an acceleration chamber, wherein the magnetic yoke is in thermal contact with the superconducting coils, wherein the median acceleration plane extends through the acceleration chamber, and wherein the superconducting coils and the physically coupled magnetic yoke are configured to generate a magnetic field that reaches at least 6 Tesla in the median acceleration plane; c) a cryogenic refrigerator physically and thermally coupled with the superconducting coils and with the magnetic yoke; d) an electrode coupled with a radiofrequency voltage source and mounted in the acceleration chamber; and e) a cryostat mounted outside the magnetic yoke and containing the coils and the magnetic yoke; introducing an ion into the median acceleration plane at an inner radius; providing a radiofrequency voltage from the radiofrequency voltage source to the electrode to accelerate the ion in an expanding orbit across the median acceleration plane; cooling the superconducting coils and the magnetic yoke with the cryogenic refrigerator, wherein the superconducting coils are cooled to a temperature no greater than their superconducting transition temperature, and wherein the magnetic yoke is cooled to a temperature no greater than 100 K; providing a voltage to the cooled superconducting coils to generate a superconducting current in the superconducting coils that produces a magnetic field reaching at least 6 Tesla in the median acceleration plane from the superconducting coils and from the yoke; and extracting the accelerated ion from acceleration chamber at an outer radius. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
- employing a cyclotron comprising;
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24. A cyclotron positioned about a central axis, the cyclotron comprising:
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an ion source at an inner radius from the central axis for introducing into an acceleration chamber an ion to be accelerated by the cyclotron in a median acceleration plane inside the acceleration chamber; an ion extraction apparatus at an outer radius from the central axis for extracting the ion from the acceleration chamber; an electrode including a pair of plates, one on each side of the median acceleration plane for orbitally accelerating the ion from the inner radius to the outer radius; a pair of electrically conductive coils centered about the central axis and configured to generate a magnetic field in the acceleration chamber; a magnetic yoke surrounding the electrode and the electrically conductive coils and including a pair of poles joined at a perimeter and separated on opposite sides of the electrode across a pole gap, wherein the magnetic yoke defines a vacuum feed-through port that provides access to the electrode, and wherein the pole gap narrows at angles from the central axis that cross the vacuum feed-through port and expands at angles from the central axis that are away from the vacuum feed-through port; and an electrically conductive conduit that extends through the vacuum feed-through port and is coupled with the electrode.
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Specification