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High-power magnetron transmitter as an RF source for superconducting linear accelerators

A concept of a high-power magnetron transmitter for operation within a wideband control feedback loop in phase and amplitude is presented. This transmitter is proposed to drive Superconducting RF (SRF) cavities for intensity-frontier GeV-scale proton/ion linacs. The transmitter performance at the dynamic control was verified in experiments with CW, S-Band, 1 kW magnetrons. The wideband control of magnetrons, required for the superconducting linacs, was realized using the magnetrons, injection-locked by the phase-modulated signals. The capabilities of the magnetrons injection-locked by the phase-modulated signals and adequateness for feeding of SRF cavities were verified by measurements of the transfer function magnitude characteristics of single and 2-cascade magnetrons, by measurements the magnetrons phase performance and by measurements of spectra of the carrier frequency. At the ratio of power of locking signal to output power less than -13 dB (in 2-cascade scheme per magnetron, respectively) we demonstrated a phase modulation bandwidth of over 1.0 MHz. The carrier frequency spectrum width about of 1 Hz at the level less than -60 dBc did not demonstrate broadening at wide range of magnitude and frequency of the phase modulation of the injection-locking signal. The wideband dynamic control of output power of the transmitter model was first experimentally demonstrated using two magnetrons, combined in power and injection-locked by the phase-modulated signals. The experiments with the injection-locked magnetrons adequately emulated the wideband dynamic control with a feedback control system, which will allow suppressing all known parasitic modulation of the accelerating field in the SRF cavities. The magnetron transmitter concept, tests of the setups and injection-locking of magnetrons by phase-modulated signals are discussed in this work.