mode - CERN Accelerator School

Linacs are mostly used for:
Why y Linear Accelerators
11. LLow-Energy E accelerators l t s (i (injectors j t s tto ssynchrotrons h t s or st stand-alone) d l )
for protons and ions, linear accelerators are synchronous with the RF
fields in the region where velocity increases with energy. As soon as
velocity y is ~constant, , synchrotrons y are more m efficient ff (multi-pass
(m p
instead of single pass).
2. Production of high-intensity proton beams
in comparison with synchrotrons, linacs can go to higher repetition rate,
are less affected by resonances and have losses more distributed →
more suitable for high intensity beams (but in competition with
cyclotrons…).
3. High energy lepton colliders for electrons at high energy,
main advantage is the absence of synchrotron radiation.
2