Variable-frequency type radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator including

Abstract

A secondary coil forming a resonant circuit in cooperation with a quadrupole is composed of conductive tubes and cooled by feeding coolant such as pure water into the tubes which serve as coolant passages. This makes it possible to minimize thermal deformation of the secondary coil when a variable-frequency type radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator is driven with a large amount of power. As a result, variation of the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit, resulting from the deformation of the secondary coil, can be minimized. Consequently, a given ion acceleration ability can be provided. When a coolant passage for use in cooling the primary coil is included and coolant such as pure water is fed into the coolant passage, thermal deformation of the primary coil can be minimized. Thus, impedance matching with the resonant circuit can be maintained on a stable basis. When the secondary coil is made by aligning several unit secondary coils in the axial direction of the quadrupole, the resonant frequency can be varied by mounting or dismounting the unit secondary coils independently.