Design and R&D
Design and R&D
We are a technology company with an in-house team of PhD accelerator physicists and engineers committed to bringing innovation to the commercial markets.
In addition to our decades long vacuum electron device manufacturing expertise and capabilities, we use the world’s leading computational software by ANSYS and others, along with custom optimizing and automation algorithms, to design the world’s leading and next generation products.
Today we have several patents pending for electron guns design, RF structure design, high power targets and the ability to track tumors in real-time with a keV “CT quality” image from the same beam axis as the MeV treatment beam. Work with this exciting innovation is on-going and we hope to see this capability utilized in the fight to stop cancer.
A New Technology in the Fight Against Cancer
kV CT-6 MeV Guide
We have 4.5 cell, 5.5 cell and 6.5 cell, 6 MeV designs that can also produce an energy in the 400 kV– 1 MeV range without a mechanical energy switch. The “kV” beam is used to create “CT Quality” images down the exact same axis as the cancer treatment beam, allowing the removal of expensive cone-beam equipment and the ability to track both tumor and biorhythms in real-time. Our kV CT Guide design can switch from treatment to imaging on a pulse-to-pulse basis and this diagnostic quality of the imaging can be used to modify and optimize the treatment while it is being administered. The dose delivered by the imaging mode can also be used for treatment sparring the patient the unwanted radiation associated with a typical cone beam CT.
The development of this exciting innovation is on-going and we hope to see this capability utilized in the fight to stop cancer.
Dark Current
Dark current or unwanted dose has multiple causes and can slowly get worse over time. Our proprietary design and technology provide for low dark current and keeps it low for the life of the Guide.
Spots Size & Penumbra
We have patent pending technology that allows us to readily shrink the spot size to the desired diameter for better imaging resolution and this same technology can be used to sharpen the penumbra, allowing the treatment beam to safely get closer to critical organs when treating cancer.
High Power Target Designs
For ultra-high output applications, we use Tungsten material fabricated to our proprietary design specifications. For standard designs we use more readily available Tungsten alloys.
All target designs can be attached or detached and are available in both isolated and non-isolated.
Industrial designs come with an extended target, allowing for better collimation.
Dose Rate “Sag” or instability
During the initial turn-on period, the RF pulsed heating will result in the dose rate sagging and this phenomenon can be reduced or alleviated with proper design.
Improved Energy Stability
Many design aspects come into play for better energy stability and ultimately the Guide needs stable inputs in order to produce stable outputs. When ultra-energy stability is needed, we can install an energy feed-through port (or ports) on the Guide’s RF Structure, allowing the sampling of both field amplitude and phase. We these precise feedback inputs, we can show you how to make a more stable system/LINAC.
Multi-energy
In addition to fixed energy designs we also offer multi-energy designs without the need for an energy-switch. We can give you high energy differential and can meet many specs using beam-loading only. The advantage of beam-loading only is fast, interleaved operation and less stress on magnetrons, resulting in longer magnetron life.
Back-Heating & Electron Guns
We have patent pending technology that has solved the problems associated with back-heating (arcing, dark current, shortened cathode life and more) and its ill effects on triode electron guns.
High Power RF Window Designs
Our RF Window designs do not require any cooling water for radiotherapy and industrial imaging applications.
RF Cell Design
The RF Cell design has many aspects including shunt impedance, Q, energy spread, multi-energy operation, low back-heating, beam symmetry, thermal load, back-ground radiation, dose rate stability, spot size and more.Depending on your specification and/or application and how you rank the importance of each, we can fine-tune a design tailored to your needs.
For high efficiency, high output designs, ART has a novel RF Cell design that maximizes shunt impedance, while maintaining high coupling. Some of the many advantages include an easier to tune and a more energy and dose rate stable design.
High Dose Rate and High Efficiency
We supply the Guides with the highest dose rates in the world. Our flagship 6 MeV Guide is capable of well over 2500 rads/min with a 3 MW RF Source and we have a 10 MeV Guide designed for medical sterilization that can operate in excess of 2500 keW (average power).
Note: In order to offer long-life targets, 6 MeV designs are not warrantied when operated over 1600 rads/min at 1 meter.
Many Designs to Choose From
We offer multiple designs at the same energy level. For example we have 6 MeV design with 6.5 cells (~32.5 cm), 5.5 cells (~27.5 cm) and the ultra-short 4.5 cells (~22.5 cm). The ultra-short Guide can still produce 1000 rads/min at 1 meter, allowing your gantry ring to have a much smaller diameter.
We use many types of RF structures to offer the best possible product for your applications.
We also tailor standard designs, putting appendages and connection interfaces in locations that best suit your configuration needs.