This patent document relates to systems and devices that carry time-varying electric currents, including pulse voltage circuits used in charged particle accelerators and other devices.
Various electric circuits and systems can generate time-varying or transient magnetic fields, e.g., in circuits or electrical devices that carry time-varying currents. Such time-varying magnetic fields in turn can induce, via electromagnetic induction, eddy currents in conductors and electromagnetic interference in circuit elements or devices that are exposed to such time-varying magnetic fields. The magnetic field induced eddy currents may have undesired effects, e.g., loss of electromagnetic energy, heating caused by presence of eddy currents, electromagnetic interference by the presence of eddy currents and others.
The devices, systems and techniques disclosed here can be used to reduce undesired effects by magnetic field induced eddy currents based on a diamagnetic composite material structure including diamagnetic composite sheets that are separated from one another to provide a high impedance composite material structure. In some implementations, each diamagnetic composite sheet includes patterned conductor layers are separated by a dielectric material and each patterned conductor layer includes voids and conductor areas. The voids in the patterned conductor layers of each diamagnetic composite sheet are arranged to be displaced in position from one patterned conductor layer to an adjacent patterned conductor layer while conductor areas of the patterned conductor layers collectively form a contiguous conductor structure in each diamagnetic composite sheet to prevent penetration by a magnetic field.
In one example, a device having a reduced electromagnetic interference is provided to include a series of circuits located adjacent to one another, each circuit including electrical conductors to carrying one or more time-varying electric currents which induce one or more time-varying magnetic fields that extend to one or more adjacent circuits and thus induce magnetic field induced eddy currents in electrical conductors of the one or more adjacent circuits. This device includes a diamagnetic composite material structure coupled to the circuits to surround the circuits to provide a high impedance composite material structure and the diamagnetic composite sheets are electrically coupled to the circuits, respectively, to reduce a magnetic field induced eddy current in one circuit that is caused by another circuit. The patterned conductor layers in each diamagnetic composite sheet are electrically coupled to electrical conductors of a respective circuit.
In another example, a dielectric wall accelerator for accelerating charged particles can be implemented based on such a diamagnetic composite material structure. The dielectric wall accelerator includes a dielectric tube to receive a pulse of charged particles propagating along a tube lengthwise direction of the dielectric tube and a series of unit cells located outside, and engaged to, different tube sections of the dielectric tube. The unit cells each include parallel electrical conductor lines transversely connected to the different tube sections, respectively, and spaced apart along the tube lengthwise direction to apply electrical signals to effectuate acceleration electrical fields at the different tube sections along the tube lengthwise direction inside the dielectric tube. A control device is coupled to the unit cells to supply electrical power to the parallel electrical conductor lines within the unit cells and to control the unit cells to turn on and off the applied electrical signals in the unit cells, respectively, one unit cell at a time sequentially along the tube lengthwise direction to synchronize the acceleration electrical field at the different tube sections with propagation of the pulse of charged particles to accelerate the charged particles. The diamagnetic composite material structure is outside the unit cells to surround the dielectric tube and the unit cells. Each diamagnetic composite sheet is connected to at least one conductor line in a respective unit cell to reduce a magnetic field induced current.
In yet another example, a method is provided for reducing electromagnetic interference in a dielectric wall accelerator for accelerating charged particles. The dielectric wall accelerator includes a dielectric tube, a stack of Blumlein unit cells located outside, and engaged to, different tube sections of the dielectric tube to apply electrical signals to effectuate acceleration electrical fields at the different tube sections along a tube lengthwise direction inside the dielectric tube. This method includes providing a diamagnetic composite material structure outside the Blumlein unit cells to surround the dielectric tube and the Blumlein unit cells to reduce magnetic interference caused by one Blumlein unit cell to other Blumlein unit cells, and connecting each diamagnetic composite sheet to one or more conductors in a respective Blumlein unit cell to reduce a magnetic field induced current.
These and other aspects and features are described in greater detail in the drawings, the description and the claims.
Diamagnetic composite material structures disclosed herein can be used to reduce undesired effects of magnetic field induced eddy currents by blocking magnetic fields or providing high impedance at conductors or circuits where the eddy currents are to be generated. The high impedance aspect of the disclosed diamagnetic composite material structures can be achieved by using diamagnetic composite sheets that are separated from one another and are electrically coupled different conductors or circuits in a device or system.
In one aspect, each diamagnetic composite sheet can include, in some implementations, patterned conductor layers are separated by a dielectric material and each patterned conductor layer includes non-conductive regions or voids and conductor areas that are spatially arranged relative to one another to provide discontinuous conductor paths for any electrical current in the layer and thus produces a high electric impedance configuration in such a layer. For example, a patterned conductor layer in each diamagnetic composite sheet may be a conductor sheet in which the conductor areas are connected to define holes as the voids, or spatially distributes conductor areas that are separated from one another by the voids, or uses separated conductor areas that are closed conductor loops with voids within the loops, or uses separated conductor areas that are contiguous conductor patches but are separated by non-conductive regions or voids.
In another aspect, the non-conductive regions or voids in the patterned conductor layers of each diamagnetic composite sheet are arranged to be displaced in position from one patterned conductor layer to an adjacent patterned conductor layer to enable conductor areas of the different patterned conductor layers to collectively form an effective contiguous conductor structure in each diamagnetic composite sheet. This effective contiguous conductor structure in each diamagnetic composite sheet provides the blocking of the undesired transient or time-varying magnetic field.
Such particle accelerators are used to increase the energy of electrically-charged particles, e.g., electrons, protons, or charged atomic nuclei. High energy electrically-charged particles can be used in various application. For example, high energy electrically-charged particles can be accelerated to collide with a target such as atoms or molecules to break up the nuclei of the target atoms or molecules and interact with other particles. The resulting products are observed with a detector. At very high energies the accelerated charged particles can cause transformations in a target caused by the collision which can be used to discern the nature and behavior of fundamental units of matter. Particle accelerators are also important tools in the effort to develop nuclear fusion devices, and in medical applications such as proton therapy for cancer treatment, which is also known as hadron therapy.
The Blumleins unit cells 408 are located outside, and engaged to, different tube sections of the dielectric tube 406. The unit cells each include parallel electrical conductor lines transversely connected to the different tube sections, respectively, and spaced apart along the tube lengthwise direction to apply electrical signals to effectuate acceleration electrical fields at the different tube sections along the tube lengthwise direction inside the dielectric tube 406. A control device is coupled to the Blumleins unit cells 408 to supply electrical power to the parallel electrical conductor lines within the Blumleins unit cells 408 and to control the Blumleins unit cells 408 to turn on and off the applied electrical signals in the Blumleins unit cells 408, respectively, one unit cell at a time sequentially along the tube lengthwise direction to synchronize the acceleration electrical field at the different tube sections with propagation of the pulse of charged particles to accelerate the charged particles. The dielectric tube 406 can be implemented in various configurations, including a contiguous dielectric material tube that is entirely made of a dielectric material or a tube formed by alternating conductor layers and dielectric layers as a high gradient insulator tube.
The control device in
In a first position of the switch 12, as shown in
By arranging multiple Blumleins unit cells 10 over a continuous dielectric wall, the charged particle beam can be accelerated through the central axis of the multi-stage DWA by sequentially generating the appropriate voltage pulse for each section of the multi-stage DWA. As such, by timing the closing of the switches (as illustrated in
In operation, one or two adjacent Blumleins unit cells 408 are turned on at a time at the location where the pulse or packet of charged particles are traveling to produce the tube lengthwise accelerating electric field inside the DWA tube 406. After the pulse or packet of charged particles pass through the location, the one or two adjacent Blumleins unit cells 408 are tuned off and the downstream one or two adjacent Blumleins unit cells 408 are turned on to further accelerate the charged particles. This process repeats until the pulse or packet of charged particles exit the DWA tube 406.
As described with respect to
Therefore, in absence of any preventive mechanisms such as diamagnetic composite material structure disclosed here, the electromagnetic induction caused by the transient magnetic field leads to non-local magnetic coupling to adjacent Blumleins unit cells and thus loss of electric energy in the Blumleins unit cell that is currently turned on since the signal energy is lost to the induced eddy currents in adjacent Blumleins unit cells. This loss reduces the amplitude or strength of the tube lengthwise accelerating electric field inside the DWA tube and thus the overall acceleration of the entire DWA tube. In addition, the induced eddy currents in adjacent Blumleins unit cells can also cause pulse shape distortion in the pulse or packet of charged particles under acceleration.
Such undesired effects due to the non-local magnetic coupling can be reduced by implementing the disclosed diamagnetic composite material structure of diamagnetic composite sheets outside the Blumleins unit cells to surround the dielectric tube and the unit cells. Each diamagnetic composite sheet has a full metal coverage on both sides and thus blocks field lines of the transient magnetic fields. In addition, each diamagnetic composite sheet connected to at least one conductor line in a respective unit cell as a high impedance structure to reduce a magnetic field induced current in a conductor within a Blumleins unit cell. Referring back to
While this patent document contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this patent document in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described in this patent document should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments.
Only a few implementations and examples are described and other implementations, enhancements and variations can be made based on what is described and illustrated in this patent document.
The United States Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344 between the United States Department of Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.