22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

DesignandConstructionofaCyclotron
CapableofAcceleratingProtonsto2MeV

by

LeslieDewan

SubmittedtotheDepartmentofNuclearScienceandEngineering
inPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeof

BachelorofScienceinNuclearScienceandEngineering
atthe
MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology

June2007

2007LeslieDewan
Allrightsreserved

TheauthorherebygrantstoMITpermissiontoreproduceandto
distributepubliclypaperandelectroniccopiesofthisthesisdocumentinwholeorinpart
inanymediumnowknownorhereaftercreated.

SignatureofAuthor:











LeslieDewan
DepartmentofNuclearScienceandEngineering
May16,2007

Certifiedby:











DavidG.Cory
ProfessorofNuclearScienceandEngineering
ThesisSupervisor

Acceptedby:












DavidG.Cory
ProfessorofNuclearScienceandEngineering
Chairman,NSECommitteeforUndergraduateStudents

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

DesignandConstructionofaCyclotron
CapableofAcceleratingProtonsto2MeV

by

LeslieDewan

SubmittedtotheDepartmentofNuclearScienceandEngineeringonMay16,2007
inPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeof
BachelorofScienceinNuclearScienceandEngineering

ABSTRACT

Thisthesisdescribesthedesignandconstructionofacyclotroncapableofacceleratingprotonsto
2MeV.Acyclotronisachargedparticleacceleratorthatusesamagneticfieldtoconfineparticles
toaspiralflightpathinavacuumchamber.Anappliedelectricalfieldacceleratestheseparticles
tohighenergies,typicallyontheorderofmegaelectronvolts.Thiscyclotroncanbeusedby
studentsintheDepartmentofNuclearEngineeringtoperformexperimentswithlowenergyproton
beams.Forexample,thiscyclotroncouldbeusedforexperimentsinvolvingtheLi7(p,n)Be7
reaction,whichrequiresprotonswithenergiesontheorderof2MeV[2].

ThesisSupervisor:DavidG.Cory
Title:ProfessorofNuclearScienceandEngineering

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

Contents

TableofFigures...................................................................................................................... 4

Introduction.............................................................................................................................5

ThesisObjectives....................................................................................................................6

PreliminaryResearchandAnalysis........................................................................................ 7

VacuumChamber................................................................................................................... 9
DeterminingRequiredVacuumPressure....................................................................9
TestingVacuumChamber...........................................................................................11
VacuumChamberPorts.............................................................................................. 11
DetailsofDesignandConstruction............................................................................12

Electrodes................................................................................................................................13
PrinciplesofOperation...............................................................................................13
DetailsofDesignandConstruction............................................................................14

RFSystem...............................................................................................................................14
PrinciplesofOperation...............................................................................................14
TuningandTestingtheRFSystem..............................................................................15
DetailsofDesignandConstruction............................................................................16

ProtonSource...........................................................................................................................17
PrinciplesofOperation................................................................................................17
DetailsofDesignandConstruction.............................................................................18

ProtonDetector........................................................................................................................19
PrinciplesofOperation...............................................................................................19
DetailsofDesignandConstruction............................................................................19

ConclusionsandAdditionalTesting....................................................................................... 20

References...............................................................................................................................21

AppendixA:MATLABcodetocalculateparticlemeanfreepath........................................ 22

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ListofFigures

Figure1.CyclotronbuiltbyEarnestLawrenceandStanleyLivingstonin1931.

Figure2.Schematicshowingparticles'flightpathinacyclotron,aswellastheappliedmagnetic
andelectricfields.

Figure3.MagneticfieldintensityasafunctionofgapdistanceforaVarianV3900magnet(from
VarianAnalyticalInstrumentDivisionV3900manual).

Figure4.Yieldsfromtheprotonbombardmentoflithium.Theuppermostcurverepresents
relativeneutronyields.ThethresholdoftheLi7(p,n)Be7reactionisat1.882MeV.(fromBair
1952).

Figure5.ProtonmeanfreepathinmetersversusvacuumpressureinTorr.

Figure6.Vacuumchamberandnumberedports,connectingtothefollowingsubsystems:(1)RF
system;(2)vacuumpumptomaintainlowpressureinthechamber;(3)filamentleadsfortheion
source;(4)ahydrogensupplyfortheionsource;and(5)atargettocollecttheacceleratedparticles.

Figure7.CopperelectrodesandconnectiontoRFsystem,withcoppergroundingstraptoensure
consistentconnectiontoground.

Figure8.Schematicofresonatorandtuningcapacitor.

Figure9.Schematicplotofenergyversusfrequencyforadampedoscillator.Qisdefinedasf/f0.

Figure10.CyclotronRFsysteminaluminumboxwithcoppergroundingstraps.

Figure11.Ionsourceschematic,indicatingelectronflow.

Figure12.Cyclotronionsource,showingwiresconnectingtoneodymiumwirefilamentand
hydrogeninlettube.

Figure13.Protondetectorandcopperflashingwhichensuresconstantconnectiontogroundand
shieldsdetector.

Figure14.Closedcyclotronchamber,RFbox,andmountingplates.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

Introduction

Acyclotronisachargedparticleacceleratorthatusesamagneticfieldtoconfineparticles
toaspiralflightpathinavacuumchamber.Anappliedelectricalfieldacceleratestheseparticles
tohighenergies,typicallyontheorderofmegaelectronvolts.Figure1showsthevacuum
chamberandelectrodesofanearlycyclotron,builtbyErnestLawrenceandStanleyLivingstonin
1931.
Aparticleinacyclotronencountersthesameacceleratingelectricfieldmanytimesalong
itsspiralflightpath.ThisflightpathisshownschematicallyinFigure2.Usingtheaccelerating
fieldinthisfashionallowsacyclotrontoproducehighenergyparticlesfarmoreefficientlythan
otheraccelerators,suchaslinearaccelerators.

Figure1.CyclotronbuiltbyE.Lawrenceand Figure2.Schematicshowingparticles'flight
S.Livingstonin1931.(fromtheNational pathinacyclotron,aswellastheapplied
MuseumofScienceandIndustry,UK) magneticandelectricfields.(from
GeorgiaStateUniversity)

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

Theforceofthemagneticfieldonthechargedparticlesisdescribedbythefollowing
relation:
mv 2
F =qvB= (1)
r
whereBisthemagneticfieldinTesla,ristheparticle'sradiusinmeters,mistheparticle'smassin
kg,andqistheparticle'schargeinCoulombs.Thisequationcanberearrangedtogivethe
particle'svelocityasafunctionoftheothervariables:
qBr
v= (2)
m
Thisvelocitycanbeusedtoderivetheangularfrequencyoftheparticle'sflightpath.
v qBr 1 qB
f= = =
2 r m 2 r 2 m (3)
Thesignalappliedtothecyclotron'selectrodesmustoscillateatthisfrequency.Theparticles'
maximumkineticenergycanalsobedeterminedfromequation2:
1 mv 2 1 m q 2 B2 r 2 q 2 B 2 r 2
KE= = = (4a)
2 r 2 m2 2m
Asshowninequation4a,theparticles'maximumenergydependsonthestrengthofthe
magneticfield.Alargermagneticfieldexertsagreatercentripetalforceontheparticles(by
equation1),makingtheirflightpathatighterspiral.Aparticletravelingalongthistighterspiral
encounterstheelectricalfieldmoreoften,andisthereforeacceleratedtoagreatervelocityand
kineticenergy.

ThesisObjectives

Thepurposeofthisthesisistodesignandconstructacyclotroncapableofaccelerating
protonsto2MeV.ThiscyclotroncanbeusedbystudentsintheDepartmentofNuclear
Engineeringtoperformexperimentswithlowenergyprotonbeams.Forexample,thiscyclotron
couldbeusedforexperimentsinvolvingtheLi6(p,n)Be7reaction,whichrequiresprotonswith
energiesontheorderof2MeV[2].

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PreliminaryAnalysisandResearch

Somepreliminaryanalysiswasnecessarybeforestartingtodesignthecyclotron's
components.Specifically,thisanalysisdeterminedthetypeofchargedparticlestoaccelerateand
therangeofenergiestowhichtheseparticlescouldbeaccelerated.Theparticles'maximum
energydeterminesthetypesofreactionstheycanundergo.
Therearecertaindifficultiesinherentinacceleratingelectronstohighvelocities.Electrons
areapproximately1800timeslessmassivethanprotons.Byequation2,asystemwithagiven
magneticfieldstrengthandradiuswouldbeabletoaccelerateelectronstovelocities1800times
greaterthanthemaximumprotonvelocity,neglectingrelativisticeffects.Chargedparticles
movingalongacurvedflightpathathighvelocitiesemithighenergyphotons,whichmustbe
shielded.Inthiscyclotron,whichhasamaximummagneticfieldstrengthofapproximately2.5
Teslaandradiusofapproximately8cm,protonsarenotabletoreachahighenoughvelocityto
emitthisradiation.However,acceleratedelectronswouldemitphotonswithenergiesinthexray
range.Itwasdecidedtoaccelerateprotonsinthiscyclotronbecausethesystemwouldnotrequire
extensiveshielding.Itisalsostraightforwardtogenerateprotonsbyionizinghydrogen.
Asshowninequations1,2,and3,and4atheprotons'maximumattainableenergyis
limitedbythedimensionsofthemagnet'spolesanditsmaximumfieldstrength.Themagnetic
fieldstrengthisafunctionoftheseparationdistancebetweenthenorthandsouthpolesofthe
electromagnet.Thiscyclotron'smagneticfieldisproducedusingaVarianV3900magnet.Figure
3showstherelationbetweengapdistanceandmagneticfieldintensityforthismagnet.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

Figure3.MagneticfieldintensityasafunctionofgapdistanceforaVarianV3900magnet(from
VarianAnalyticalInstrumentDivisionV3900manual).

AsshowninFigure3,themagnetgenerates2.7Tofmagneticfieldwitha1.25inchpole
separation.Byequations4band5,protonsacceleratedthroughavacuumwhilecontainedinthis
magneticfieldcanattainamaximumenergyofapproximately2MeV.

1 mv 2 1 m q 2 B2 r 2 q 2 B 2 r 2 1.610192 2.72 0.0752

KE= = = = =3.143E13J (4b)
2 r 2 m2 2m 21.671027

1 MeV
3.1431013 J =1.96MeV (5)
1.61013 J
Thismaximumprotonenergydeterminesthereactionsthattheprotonscouldundergowitha
target.TheseprotonshaveasufficientlyhighkineticenergytoundergotheLi7(p,n)Be7reaction.
AsshowninFigure4,thisreactionrequiresparticleswithenergiesofatleast1.882MeV.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

Figure4.Yieldsfromtheprotonbombardmentoflithium.Theuppermostcurverepresents
relativeneutronyields.ThethresholdoftheLi7(p,n)Be7reactionisat1.882MeV.(Bair1952)

Itispossibletoaccelerateprotonstothisenergywiththeexistingpolepiecesinplace.The
existingpolepieceshavean8cmradiusandaseparationgapof1.25inches.Byequations(4b)and
(5),thisgeometryandfieldstrengthiscapableofacceleratingprotonstoamaximumkineticenergy
of1.96MeV.Itispossibletoacquirelowerenergyparticlesbypositioningthedetectoratasmaller
radius.Adetectorpositioned7.34centimetersfromthecenteroftheacceleratorwillintercept
particleswithenergiesofapproximately1.88MeVinthepresenceofa2.7Tmagneticfield.
Thepresenceofthisstrongmagneticfieldmeansthatallcyclotroncomponentsmustbe
madeofmagneticallytransparentmaterialssuchasaluminum,copper,orbrass.Themagnetic
fieldwouldcauseoscillations,whichwoulddisruptmeasurements,inmaterialssuchassteelthat
arenotmagneticallytransparent.

VacuumChamber

DeterminingRequiredVacuumPressure
TheMATLABsimulationshowninAppendixAcalculatestheprotons'flightdistanceasa
functionofthemagneticfieldstrength.Italsoplotstheprotons'meanfreepathasafunctionofthe
vacuumpressureinsidethechamber.Themeanfreepathofaparticleistheaveragedistancea

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

particletravelsbetweencollisions.Foraparticlemovingatahighvelocitycomparedtoasetof
targetparticles,themeanfreepathisgivenbyequation6.
l= n 1 (6)
wherelisthemeanfreepath,nisthenumberofparticlesperunitvolume,andsigmaisthetarget
particles'crosssectionalarea.Thenumberofparticlesperunitvolumedependsonthepressure
insidethevacuumchamberbytheidealgaslaw.
P
n= (7)
kT
wherePisthepressureinPascals,TisthetemperatureinKelvin,andkisBoltzmann'sconstant,

whichisequalto1.38066x1023J/K.
Anacceptablevacuumwouldallowforameanfreepathanorderofmagnitudelargerthan
theexpectedflightdistance.Forprotonsacceleratedbya2.7Tmagneticfieldandavoltage
differenceof1000Vbetweentheelectrodes,theexpectedflightdistanceisapproximately300
meters.Figure5isagraphoftheparticle'smeanfreepathversusthedegreeofvacuum,inTorr,in
whichtheyaretraveling.

Figure5.ProtonmeanfreepathinmetersversusvacuumpressureinTorr.

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TestingtheVacuumChamber
ThevacuumchamberwaspumpedusingaVarianTurboV70vacuumpump.Thevacuum
chambercanbeconsistentlypumpeddowntoapproximately2*103Torr.AccordingtoFigure5,
thiscorrespondstoameanfreepathof5kilometers,whichisapproximatelyanorderofmagnitude
longerthantheprotons'expectedpathlength.

VacuumChamberPorts
Thevacuumchambercontainsthetwocopperelectrodesusedtoacceleratetheprotons,and
anionsource.Thischamberhasaseriesofports,whichconnectitto(1)asignalgeneratorandRF
matchingbox;(2)avacuumpumpthatmaintainslowpressureinthechamber;(3)filamentleads
fortheionsource;(4)ahydrogensupplyfortheionsource;and(5)atargettocollectthe
acceleratedparticles.Figure6showsthepositionofthesefiveportsonthevacuumchamber.

Figure6.Vacuumchamberandnumberedports,connectingtothefollowingsubsystems:(1)RF
system;(2)vacuumpumptomaintainlowpressureinthechamber;(3)filamentleadsfortheion
source;(4)ahydrogensupplyfortheionsource;and(5)atargettocollecttheacceleratedparticles.

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DetailsofDesignandConstruction
Thesidesofthevacuumchamberaremadeof6061aluminum.Thevacuumchamberlids
aremadeof7075aluminum,becausethatalloyhasasignificantlylargertensilestrengthandyield
strengththan6061aluminum,asshowninTable2.

Table2.PropertiesofAluminumAlloys(fromMachinery'sHandbook).

Alloy Young'sModulus(GPa) YieldStrength(MPa)

6061T6 69 275
7075T6 75 505

Thechamberlidsaresubjecttosignificantstressesbecauseofthelowpressureinsidethe
chamber.Followingequation8,whichdescribesthedeflectionofacircularplateunderuniform
loadwithafixedsupportaroundtheentireouterboundary,alidwithradius10centimetersand
thicknessof3.5millimeterswouldundergolessthan1mmofdeflectionwhencoveringachamber
withinternalpressureof103Torr.Thesecalculationswerealsoverifiedexperimentallypumping
thechambertovacuumresultedinnovisibleliddeflection.
q a 4
center = L 14 L11 (8a)
2D
E t3
D= 2 (8b)
121

1 r0 2 r0 4 r0 2 r0 2 a
L11= 14 5 4 2 ln (8c)
64 a a a a r0

1 r0 4 r0 2 a
L14= 1 4 ln (8d)
16 a a r0
Inequation8,aistheplateradiusinmeters,r0istheoutermostradiusatwhichthedistributedload
isappliedqisthelinearizedloadinNewtonspermeter,tistheplatethicknessinmillimeters,Eis
themodulusofelasticityandvisthePoissonratio.

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ThechamberhastwogroovesforVitonorings,whichmaketheconnectionbetweenthe
sideandlidsvacuumtight.Thechamber'sportsweremadebyscrewinglengthsofpipe,which
weresealedwithTeflontape,intotappedholesinthesideofthechamber.Theotherendsofthe
pipeswerescrewedontoQFflanges.

Electrodes

Principlesofoperation
Smallercyclotronsoftenaccelerateparticlesusingtwodeeshapedelectrodes.Figure1
showsanexampleofthisdesign.Thiscyclotronusesanalternativedesign:ithasonedeeshaped
copperelectrode,andthegroundedvacuumchamberfunctionsastheotherelectrode.Figure7
showstheshapeandpositioningoftheelectrodewithrespecttothevacuumchamber.

Figure7.CopperelectrodesandconnectiontoRFsystem,withcoppergroundingstraptoensure
consistentconnectiontoground.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

DetailsofConstruction
ThedeeshapedelectrodewasmadebyfirstcuttingpiecesofcopperonanOMAXwaterjet
machine,thensolderingthepiecestogether.Alengthofcopperrodwasthensolderedtothedee.
ThecopperrodwasthreadedatoneendtomakeanelectricalconnectionwithanRFfeedthrough
(VarianVacuum,partnumber9545143).ThefeedthroughconnectstotheRFcontrolbox,as
showninFigure7.

RFsystem

PrinciplesofDesign
TheRFsystemensuresthatthecyclotron'simpedanceismatchedwiththeincomingsignal
impedance,whichis50Ohms.Animpedancemismatchwouldcauseafractionoftheincident
powertobereflected,makingthesystemlessefficient.Thecyclotronelectrodesandvacuum
chamberactasacapacitor.Thiscapacitorinparallelwithaninductorresonatesataparticular
frequency,givenbyequation9.
1
f= (9)
2 LC
Placinganadditionalvariablecapacitorinserieswiththesystemmakesitpossibletotunethe
system'simpedanceto50Ohms.Figure8isacircuitdiagramoftheresonatorandtuning
capacitor.

Figure8.Schematicofresonatorandtuningcapacitor.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

TuningandtestingtheRFsystem
First,thecapacitanceinvacuumchamberwasdeterminedbyplacingacoilwithan
arbitraryinductanceinserieswiththecyclotronchamber,andmeasuringtheresonantfrequency
withthenetworkanalyzer.Next,thesamearbitraryinductorwasplacedinserieswitha100pF
capacitor,andtheresonantfrequencywasagainmeasured.Afterperformingthismeasurement,
thecoil'sinductancecouldbedeterminedusingtheresonantfrequency,theknowncapacitance,
andequation9.Oncethecoil'sinductancewasknown,thechamber'scapacitancewasdetermined
usingequation9.Thevacuumchamber'scapacitanceis92pF.
Afterdeterminingthechamber'scapacitance,acopperinductorcoilandvariableresistor
wereaddedtothecircuit.Theinductorandcyclotronchamberresonatedat15.1MHz.The
variablecapacitorwastunedsothatthecircuithadanimpedanceof50Ohms.Oncethecircuit
wastuned,itwastestedforarcingwith100Wpulses.Duringtesting,thechamberwasconnected
toanoscilloscopethatdisplayedtheincidentandreflectedsignal.Achamberthatisnotarcing
producesasignalthatisinvariantintime.Thechamberdidnotarcduringthe100Wpulses.
Acircuit'squalityfactor(Q)isadimensionlessnumberrepresentingtheratioofthetotal
energystoredinanoscillatingsystemtotheenergylostinasinglecycle.Qcanberepresented
schematicallyonagraphofcurrentversusfrequency,asshowninFigure9.Qisdefinedasthe
resonantfrequency(f0)ofthesystemdividedbythebandwidth(f).

Figure9.Schematicplotofenergyversusfrequencyforadampedoscillator.Qisdefinedasf0/f.
(B.Crowell).

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

Beforeconstructingthecyclotronchamberandelectrodes,theQfactorwasestimated,using
approximationsforthesystem'scapacitanceandresistance.Thisestimateisshowninequation10.

Q=
1 L
R C ,whereR=4mOhms (10a)

Q=
1

190109
8.6103 75109
=185 (10b)

AmoreprecisevalueoftheQfactorwasdeterminedafterthechamberandelectrodeswere
builtbymeasuringthebandwidthandresonantfrequencyoftheoscillator.Foraresonant
frequencyof15MHzandbandwidthof80KHz,Qisequalto190.Thisexperimentallyderived
resultisgratifyinglysimilartothepredictedoutcome.

DetailsofConstruction
TheRFcomponents,showninFigure10,arehousedinanaluminumboxmadeofbent
sheetaluminum.Anntypebulkheadconnectormounteddirectlytotheboxconnectstothe
functiongeneratorandpoweramplifierthatgeneratetheRFsignal.Thevariablecapacitoris
mountedtotheboxusingDelrinstandoffstopreventarcing.Theboxalsocontainsacopper
inductorcoilmadeof8gaugecopperwire.Thecomponentsintheboxareconnectedby10gauge
copperwire.AcoppergroundingstrapensuredagoodelectricalconnectionbetweentheRF
source'sground,theRFbox,andthevacuumchamber.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

Figure10.CyclotronRFsysteminaluminumboxwithcoppergroundingstrap.

ProtonSource

PrinciplesofOperation
Thecyclotron'sionsourceuseselectronstoionizehydrogengas,therebygenerating
protons.Theelectronsaregeneratedbythermionicemission.Thermionicemissionoccurswhen
electronsonthesurfaceofahotconductor(ontheorderof10003000K)haveenoughkinetic
energytoovercometheelectrostaticforcesbindingthemtothesurface.Inthiscyclotron'sion
source,theelectronsflowfromanegativelybiasedneodymiumfilamenttothechamberground.
Figure11isacircuitdiagramshowingtheflowofelectronsintheionsource.Theseelectronshave
sufficientenergytoionizehydrogengastoformprotons.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

Figure11.Ionsourceschematic,indicatingelectronflow.

Figure12.Cyclotronionsource,showingwiresconnectingtoneodymiumwirefilamentand
hydrogeninlettube.

DetailsofConstruction
Figure12showsthecompletedionsource.Thefilamentismadeofneodymiumwire,
whichisconnectedtoavacuumtightfeedthrough(KurtJ.Lesker,partnumberEFT0024038).
Thereare22Ohmsofresistanceacrossthefeedthroughleads.Thefilamenttemperaturemustbe
approximately1000Kforthermionicemissiontooccur.Thewireachievesthistemperaturewhen
approximately10voltsareappliedacrossthefilament.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

ProtonDetector

PrinciplesofOperation
TheprotonsweredetectedattheendoftheirflightpathusingaFaradaycup.Acopperrod,
whichwasconnectedtogroundthroughanamplifier(StanfordResearchSystemsSRS560)was
positioned7.34cmfromthecenterofthecyclotronchamber.Protonsincidentuponthecopperrod
generateacurrent.Thecopperrodisshieldedwithcopperflashingtoreducemeasurementnoise.
Therearealsonegativeionsinthechamberproducedwhenthehydrogengasisionized.
Thesenegativeionstravelinanoppositedirectiontothepositiveprotons.Ifthesenegativeions
strikethecopperrod,theywillneutralizetheprotons'signal.Therefore,thecopperrodisshielded
byapieceofaluminumconnectedtothechamberground.Negativeparticlesstrikethisgrounded
aluminum,andthereforedonotaffectthemeasurement.Figure13showsthecyclotron'sproton
detector.

Figure13.Protondetectorandcopperflashingwhichensuresconstantconnectiontogroundand
shieldsdetector.

DetailsofConstruction
Thedetectorhasavacuumtightfeedthroughmadebypressfittingthecopperdetectorrod
throughapieceofDelrin,whichwasinturnpressfitthroughalengthofcoppertubing.The
copperrodisshieldingwithcopperflashingandanaluminumhousingbox.ABNCconnector,
whichconnectstotheamplifier,ismountedtothealuminumhousing.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

ConclusionsandAdditionalTesting
Figure14showstheclosedcyclotronchamber,RFbox,andmountingplates.Iwasunable
totestthecyclotron'sprotonsourceanddetectorbeforewritingthisdocument,becausetherewas
nohydrogenavailablefortheionsource.ThesecomponentswillbetestedduringtheweekofMay
27,2007.ThemodulesofthecyclotronthathavebeentestedtheRFsystemandvacuum
chamberallfunctionsuccessfully.Thevacuumchambercanconsistentlyholdavacuumof
approximately2*103Torr.TheRFsystem,whichhasaqualityfactorof190,doesnotarcwhen
subjectedto100Wpulses.Followingtestingoftheremainingtwomodules,thecyclotron's
inductorwillbetunedto160nH(byequation9),creatingaresonanceat41.2Mhz(byequation3).
Thevariablecapacitorwillthenbeadjustedtomatchtheincomingsignalimpedance,andthe
appliedmagneticfieldwillbesetto2.7Tesla.Adjustingtheseparameterswillmakethesystem
capableofproducingabeamof1.88MeVprotons,whichwilldrivetheLi7(p,n)Be7reaction.

Figure14.Closedcyclotronchamber,RFbox,andmountingplates.

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References

[1]Bair,J.ProtonBombardmentofLithium.PhysicalReview.1952.

[2]Bashkin,S.ProtonBombardmentofLithiumIsotopes.PhysicalReview.1951.

[3]Bodansky,D.NeutronEnergyDistributioninProtonBombardmentofBeryllium.Physical
Review.1950.

[4]Clegg,A.GammaRadiationfromtheMediumEnergyProtonBombardmentofLithium,
Beryllium,Boron,Carbon,andNitrogen.ProceedingsofthePhysicalSociety.1961.

[5]Hahn,T.NeutronsandGammaRaysfromtheProtonBombardmentofBeryllium.Physical
Review.1952.

[6]Oppenheimer,JRandJSSchwinger.OnPairEmissionintheProtonBombardmentof
Fluorine.PhysicalReview.1939.

[7]Lawrence,E,andMLivingston.TheProductionofHighSpeedIonsWithouttheUseofHigh
Voltages.1932.
[8]Livingston,M.ParticleAccelerators.Cambridge,Massachusetts:HarvardUniversityPress,
1969.

[9]Machinery'sHandbook,27thEdition.Eds:ROberg,JJones,KHorton,RRyffel,S
McCauley,DHealdandOHussain.NewYork,NewYork:IndustrialPress,2004.

[10]Rosenblatt,J.ParticleAcceleration.Methuen,1968.

[11]RutgersCyclotron.http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/cyclotron/.CreatedMarch2003,Viewed
September2006.

[12]Scharf,W.ParticleAcceleratorsandTheirUses.Amsterdam:HarwoodAcademicPublishers,
1986.

[13]Wilson,R.,andRLittauer,Accelerators:MachinesofNuclearPhysics.NewYork,NewYork:
Doubleday,1960.

[14]Young,W.,andRBudynas.Roark'sFormulasforStressandStrain,SeventhEdition.New
York,NewYork:McGrawHill,2002.

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

AppendixA:ProtonFlightPathandMeanFreePathCalculations

function cyclotron_and_mfp

m = 1.67*10^-27; % mass of proton, kg

q = 1.602*10^-19; % proton charge, C
r_max = 0.076; % maximum proton flight path radius, m

B = 2.5; % magnetic field strength, Tesla

volts = 50; % applied voltage, volts

freq = q*B/(2*pi*m); %cyclotron frequency, Hz

r = 0; % initial proton flight path radius

t = 0; %initializing time variable
i = 1; % initializing index i
delta_t = 10^-7; % time increment, s

while r < r_max % while the proton's flight path radius is less than the dee's
radius
dEdt = 2*volts*q*freq; % rate of energy input into the cyclotron.

KE = t.*dEdt; % kinetic energy of the proton.

% st time = 0, the proton's kinetic energy is 0. All kinetic energy
% increase is due to the applied voltage between the dee and dummy dee.

v = sqrt(2*KE/m); % proton velocity, which is a function of its KE

r = m*v/(q*B);
% the radius of the proton's flight path is a function of it's KE, and
% is therefore a function of its velocity

t = t + delta_t; % increment time

% store the following in vectors, to be read later:

time(i) = t;
kineticenergy(i) = KE/(1.6*10^-13);
velocity(i) = v;
radius(i) = r;
flightdistance(i) = v*delta_t;

i = i+1; %increment index

end

KE_max = max(kineticenergy)

totalflight = sum(flightdistance) %determine the proton's total flight path

%plot(time,velocity,'*')

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22Thesis CyclotronDesignandConstruction

%ts = timeseries

x = radius.*sin(2*pi.*time*freq);
y = radius.*cos(2*pi.*time*freq);
%plot(x,y,'.')

%estimating mean free path

r_proton = .8*10^-15;
r_oxygen = 2*60*10^-12;
r_nitrogen = 150*10^-12;

r_ave = 10^-12;

P = [0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100]; %pressure, Pa

RB = 8.31; %universal gas constant
T = 300; %temperature in Kelvin

NA = 6.022*10^23;

molardensity = P/(RB*T);
moleculardensity = NA*molardensity;
mfp = 1./(pi*r_ave^2*moleculardensity)

pascal_to_torr = 0.0075

x = 0.0001:0.001:10;
loglog(P*pascal_to_torr, mfp, x, 7*10^3)
title('Proton Mean Free Path vs Vacuum Pressure')
xlabel('Pressure, Torr')
ylabel('Mean Free Path, m')
%flight_to_mfp_ratio = totalflight/mfp

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