What's Microtron

MICROTRON, when used as a part of MIRRORCLE, has less than 1 % energy distribution for emitted electrons and allows for the realization sub millimeter size focus.

Typical field based mobile NDT platforms usually employ a LINAC. Consequently it is difficult to perform field based high resolution NDT due to large values for both LINAC focus size, and beam energy distribution (10%). On the other hand, MICROTRON has an energy filtering function by accelerating and circulating electrons in constant magnet field.Thus, MICROTRON has the following desirable features:
(1)Practical sub millimeter X-ray focusing size.
(2)simple MICROTRON system is compact, low weight, and low in total cost.
A microtron type accelerator is a machine which circulate electrons in constant magnetic field, and accelerates electrons by an RF cavity electric field. Typical microtrons have an external electron gun. The Photon Production Laboratory MICROTRON, includes an internal electron gun in the RF cavity. This results in the 20 MeV MICROTRON having a 1.3m diameter, and the smaller 6 MeV an 10 MeV MIRRORCLE both having a 0.65m diameter.

The constant magnetic field environment of the microtron causes the electrons to circulate in ever larger orbits as they repeatedly pass through the RF cavity and are accelerated. Once the electrons reach the design level of the microtron, which of course corresponds to the largest orbit made by the electrons, they enter an extraction channel and leave the MICROTRON.

Whereas a LINAC requires a pre-buncher and α-magnet for <1% electron energy distribution, the internal electron gun inside the RF cavity gives MICROTRON an inherently low electron energy distribution and does not require a pre-buncher.