Awarded R&D Activities



Accelerator Technology for Cancer Therapy
Awards in this area are for translational R&D to adapt accelerator technologies used for discovery science to provide faster, better, and less expensive patient treatments with proton and carbon ion beams.

 

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Varian Medical Systems are collaborating to test a high-temperature superconducting magnet for proton therapy. This technology promises light-weight, cost-effective gantries, with the potential for faster treatment modalities.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, University of California San Francisco, and Loma Linda University Medical Center are developing a compact proton radiation therapy system capable of high dose rate 3D scanning over a tumor volume using RF accelerator technology designed for rapid beam energy changes and transverse steering. Prototype testing in collaboration with Mevion Medical Systems will demonstrate the feasibility of efficient RF capture and precision dose scanning over a clinically relevant field.


High-Efficiency, High-Power, Ultrafast Lasers
“Ultrafast” lasers—lasers producing pulses shorter than 1 picosecond—are widely used in scientific research as probes for chemistry, material science, and biology, and are also used to generate, accelerate, and control particle beams. Raising the pulse rate of such lasers a thousand times will greatly increase the science that can be accomplished.

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Michigan, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are developing coherent combination of fiber lasers to realize highly efficient ultrashort pulse lasers with an unprecedented combination of high repetition rate and energy. With key enabling concepts of a fiber system (blue boxes) recently demonstrated, development is focusing on techniques (green) to make possible the required multi-Joule energies with very low levels of undesired precursor pulses (sources -orange), as is needed for compact laser-plasma particle accelerators and other societally important applications. 


High-Efficiency High Power Electron Accelerator Technology
Technologies capable of providing megawatt-class electron beams for industrial use are rare and expensive. Research in this topic area aims to significantly increase the power and reduce the cost of very high-power electron accelerator technology.

 

 

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, General Atomics, C. F. Roark, RadiaBeam, TJS Technologies, JW Rathke Engineering Services, and Hampton Roads Sanitation District are working to develop a compact, conduction-cooled, efficient superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cryomodule for industrial accelerators. The system being developed consists of a 2-cell SRF cavity powered by a commercial magnetron through a low-loss power coupler and cooled by commercial cryocoolers. 

 

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, General Atomics, and InnoSys will develop a magnetron radiofrequency (RF) system scalable to 1 MW power deliverable to particle accelerators with a goal of greater than 80% wall-plug to RF power efficiency and less than $1.50/W capital cost. Using state-of-the-art technology and algorithms for magnetron amplitude and phase controls, system performance applicable to industrial electron accelerators is achievable at the end of the three-year program.


Compact Accelerators for Security and Medicine
R&D in this topic is aimed at cost-effective, robust, automated, near-term compact sources of particles and radiation that enable new capabilities in security and medicine.

 

 

Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are developing robust adaptive and physics-constrained generative machine- learning-driven diagnostics and controls for compact accelerators with a focus on ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) for mesoscale material science dynamics. The goal is to develop algorithms that autonomously run compact accelerators and automatically adjust to drift, capabilities which are of great importance for space-based and medical accelerators.

 

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will evaluate the trade-space of X-ray light source designs and performance for 3-dimensional characterization of microelectronics. This report will develop preliminary concepts for “dedicated” machines, taking into account properties such as size, X-ray beam properties, and complexity to operate.


Long-Term Accelerator R&D with Broad Applications


Awards in this category fund long-term accelerator R&D of broad benefit to many applications, for efforts aimed at a significant increase in accelerator performance and/or decrease in cost.

 

 

Michigan State University will develop a new analyzing tool for the intricate nonlinear dynamics of particle accelerators using the diffeomorphism to rigid rotation. This work helps to understand charged particles’ long-term behavior in ring accelerators and the physics of the nonlinear resonances, which are essential in the parameter optimization for future high performance circular accelerators.

Universities of California at Santa Cruz and Davis; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are partnering to develop a position-sensitive ionizing-particle detection system capable of providing measurements at 5-10 GHz, for applications in accelerator and plasma physics and photon science. The accompanying photograph shows the detection system that will be upgraded to high speed, making use of a 2x2 mm square artificial diamond sensor that will be read out by an 10 GHz integrated-circuit chip also being designed by the collaboration. This award is jointly sponsored by Basic Energy Sciences.

 

Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory will investigate the limits of stable acceleration of electrons at high efficiency in a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA). LWFAs have already demonstrated accelerating forces that are three orders of magnitude higher than those of the conventional accelerators, and the objective here is to use simulations and experiments to evaluate the feasibility of achieving efficient and stable acceleration of these beams, which is crucial to the future applicability of LWFAs to problems in high energy physics and basic energy research.

 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology will build the first prototype in the High-Current H2+ Cyclotron (HCHC) family of particle accelerators, testing direct axial injection of a high-current molecular hydrogen ion beam into a compact cyclotron through an RFQ and the subsequent formation of a stable vortex during acceleration to 1.5 MeV/amu. This vortex motion is crucial to clean extraction, paving the way to 5 mA continuous wave H2+ beams from compact cyclotrons with applications in particle physics, isotope production, and material testing.

 

Cornell University will explore the performance enhancement potential of novel metal coatings, metal doping, and alloying processes for superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities. This project will reduce the cost, complexity, and energy consumption of particle accelerators, will advance the science and technology of superconducting materials, and will train students and young researchers in SRF research and technology who will fill a critical need for the U.S. workforce.


Facilitated Use of Office of Science Accelerator R&D Capabilities
One award was made under the Accelerator Stewardship Test Facility Program to facilitate access to the unique accelerator research capabilities of the Office of Science National Laboratories. Awards are for up to $300k and up to one year in duration.

 

 

Euclid TechLabs and Argonne National Laboratory will collaborate to test an electronic brachytherapy device designed to replace Iridium-192 isotopic sources. The device has been developed to allow autonomous operation, significantly reducing the unwanted radiation received by patients, doctors, and technicians.  The outcome of this collaboration will be an automated system capable of performing high dose rate internal electronic brachytherapy with sub-millimeter level precision.


Accelerator Technology Sector Business Plans



Awards were made for public-private teams to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to one sector of accelerator technology. Awards are for $200k and one year in duration.

 

 

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, ATI, General Atomics, C. F. Roark, RadiaBeam, AMMTodd Consulting, JW Rathke Engineering Services, and the Luther School of Business at Christopher Newport University are developing a business plan to develop a reliable and competitive domestic supply of superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities for particle accelerators. The plan will be the results of market analysis, surveys, stakeholder interviews and a workshop, and will focus on ways to create a strong partnership between National Laboratories and Industry that could foster the growth of a domestic supply of SRF cavities. 

RadiaSoft and Foresight Science and Technology are working together, along with collaborators at DOE national lab accelerator facilities, to produce a strategic business plan for a successful and sustainable collaboration in using machine learning to enhance accelerator facility operations. The plan will specify the characteristics of a durable collaboration and identify the AI/ML capabilities and needs within facility operations.


 Accelerator Technology Partnerships

Awards were made to public-private partnerships that enhance domestic production capability in key accelerator technologies needed for SC accelerator facilities and applications in medicine, clean energy, environmental cleanup, security, and industry.

 

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Bruker OST, and Engi-Mat are collaborating to address supply chain vulnerabilities and enhance domestic production of superconducting Bi-2212 wire and high field magnets. Bi-2212 offers a very effective very-high-field magnet conductor; it is the only round-wire high-temperature superconducting (HTS) conductor and it has high engineering critical current density JE in long lengths and small AC losses. This award is jointly sponsored by High Energy Physics.

General Atomics, Argonne National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory seek to evolve the current state of superconducting undulator (SCU) magnets into an industrialized design that is optimized for large-quantity, low-cost fabrication. This effort will support growing the United States manufacturing supply chain of SCUs by bridging the gap in technical maturity of SCUs between the small quantity laboratory environment and the industrial sector.

WD | Advanced Materials, Euclid Beamlabs, and Applied Diamond have launched a strategic U.S.-based diamond consortium, dedicated to the domestic development and manufacturing of diffraction-grade diamonds for X-ray optics and other critical high technology applications. Leveraging their complementary strengths and the Advanced Photon Source (Argonne National Laboratory), the group's resulting advanced diamond substrates are capable of surviving the high-intensity conditions of the next generation of X-ray sources developed for medical, physics, and materials research.

FY 2022



Argonne National Laboratory, 3D Magnetics, ProNova Solutions and the Northwestern Medicine Proton Center are collaborating to develop Walstrom-type scanning magnets to enable compact superconducting gantries for carbon ion beam cancer therapy. The same system would enable even more compact superconducting proton gantries with smaller footprint than existing designs providing significant improvements in treatment quality and reductions in cost of proton and ion beam therapy.

High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers

“Ultrafast” lasers—lasers producing pulses shorter than 1 picosecond—are widely used in scientific research as probes for chemistry, material science, and biology, and are also used to generate, accelerate, and control particle beams. Raising the pulse rate of such lasers 1000x will greatly increase the science that can be accomplished.

Colorado State University, University of Maryland, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, XUV Lasers, Inc., Max Born Institute, and Few-Cycle, Inc. are collaborating to develop multi-Joule, multi-kilowatt ultrafast lasers for scientific research. Advanced technologies for thermal management, cryo-cooling, bandwidth broadening, and high strength optical coatings for high energy, high repetition rate, ultrafast laser systems.
Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Central Florida, and BAE Systems will continue the study of optical materials with a view to using them in next-generation high-peak-power mid- and long-wave infrared lasers. Data obtained during Phase I of this project enabled the development of a two-bulk-material technique for the post-compression of long-wavelength pulses; additional materials and potential applications will be examined during Phase II.

Long-Term Accelerator R&D with Broad Applications

Awards in this category fund long-term accelerator R&D of broad benefit to many applications, for efforts aimed at a significant increase in accelerator performance and/or decrease in cost.

Simulation of High Energy Density Beams

The University of California Santa Cruz, Argonne National Laboratory, and RadiaSoft will develop a suite of numerical tools to model the interaction of electron beams with materials in accelerators, benchmarking against experiments at the Advanced Photon Source Upgrade facility (APS-U) at Argonne. This research will investigate intense electron beam interactions with the surrounding structures (e.g., collimators) and the resulting damages in a high-energy-density condition during whole beam dumps, which are critical in the machine protection system in the APS-U storage ring.

Theoretical and Experimental Studies in Accelerator Physics

The University of California Los Angeles embraces new frontiers in high field particle acceleration techniques. This research concentrates on exploring emerging techniques in electron-laser interactions, and wakefield acceleration using novel media, such as dielectric structures and plasmas.

From Theory to Practical High Brightness Photocathodes

University of Illinois at Chicago and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory intend to exploit the electronic properties of crystalline materials to discover new practical high brightness photocathodes. The realization of such photoelectron sources should improve the performance of current (and future) x-ray free electron lasers and ultrafast electron scattering and imaging systems.

On-Chip Integrated Photonics-Based Photocathodes

Arizona State University and University of Southern California will collaborate to integrate photonics technologies with modern-day photocathodes to revolutionize photoemission-based electron sources. This could lead to new photoemission modalities resulting in higher electron beam brightness and novel beam shaping techniques, enhancing the performance of various particle accelerator and ultrafast electron microscopy applications.

Impacts of Microstructure on Niobium Superconducting RF Cavity Performance

Florida State University, Michigan State University, The University of Texas at Austin, and Jefferson Lab are developing fundamental materials understanding of high-purity niobium metal and will identify new processes for fabricating cavities for particle accelerators, light sources, and quantum computing. Understanding the source of defects and their impact on properties will enable development of cost-effective fabrication strategies for the next generation of superconducting radio frequency cavities.


Accelerator Technology Sector Business Plans

One award was made for a public-private team to develop a strategic plan specifically tailored to one sector of the accelerator technology space. Awards are for $200k and one year in duration.

Manufacturing full-scale high gradient copper accelerators: Electron beam welding and allied processes

Radiabeam Technologies, LLC, Faraday Technologies, Ohio State University, Los Alamos National Lab, and the LARTA Institute will study the market and manufacturing processes used for high gradient copper accelerators and identify new manufacturing strategies and a sustainable business model for this important area of accelerator manufacturing.


Accelerator Technology Partnerships

Two awards were made for the first time to public-private partnerships that enhance domestic production capability in key accelerator technologies needed for SC accelerator facilities and applications in medicine, clean energy, environmental cleanup, security, and industry.

Automated Process Control for Industrial Production of Alkali Antimonide Photocathodes

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Euclid Beamlabs, LLC, and Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. (RMD) are partnering to develop technology for automated growth of alkali antimonide photocathodes. The goal is to demonstrate that industrial fabrication of such photocathodes is possible, enabling future commercialization of the technology.

Development of the U.S. Vendor Base for High-Power RF Klystrons

Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and Communications and Power Industries, Inc. are partnering to develop a commercial version of the 500 MHz 310 kW CW klystron used by synchrotrons. Tubes of higher stability and reliability will be produced, ensuring stable operation of key synchrotron user facilities.


FY 2021

Eleven awards were provided on a competitive basis in FY 2021 that seek to improve accelerator technologies across a wide range of applications, including accelerator-based scientific research in such fields as particle physics and materials science, and uses of accelerators for green energy, medicine, environmental cleanup, industry and security.


Accelerator Technology for Cancer Therapy

Awards in this area are for translational R&D to adapt accelerator technologies used for discovery science to provide faster, better, and less expensive patient treatments with proton and carbon ion beams.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Northwestern University, Loma Linda University Medical Center and Varian Medical Systems are developing a compact proton radiation therapy system capable of rapid (seconds) 3D scanning over a tumor volume of up to 4 liters in both transverse and longitudinal dimensions. Beam dynamics simulations are being developed to establish the feasibility of efficient RF capture of a realistic beam from a cyclotron source and precision dose scanning over a clinically relevant field using the captured proton beam characteristics.

 

High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers

“Ultrafast” lasers—lasers producing pulses shorter than 1 picosecond—are widely used in scientific research as probes for chemistry, material science, and biology, and are also used to generate, accelerate, and control particle beams. Raising the pulse rate of such lasers 1000x will greatly increase the science that can be accomplished.

University of Michigan is applying machine learning techniques to stabilize and optimize the x-rays produced by laser-driven plasma accelerators by controlling spectral and spatial phase of the driving laser. Techniques that are compatible with high peak-power high repetition rate laser systems are being developed and include flowing-water-based plasma mirrors for temporal pulse contrast enhancement.

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Colorado State University, University of Michigan, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Coherent Inc., and Varian Medical Systems are developing a novel path to increase ultrashort laser pulse energies at high repetition rates for science, industry, medicine, and homeland security applications, including laser-plasma accelerators and radiation sources. This research will explore coherent laser combining approaches to energy-scale nonlinear pulse compression beyond the state of the art, and near-field broadening methods to increase focusability of nonlinearly compressed beams.

 


High-Efficiency High Power Electron Accelerator Technology

Technologies capable of providing megawatt-class electron beams for industrial use are rare and expensive. Research in this topic area aims to significantly increase the power and reduce the cost of very high power electron accelerator technology.

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, General Atomics, and Hampton Roads Sanitation District will pursue the technology transfer of superconducting accelerator technology widely used in large-scale research machines to industrial use for compact irradiation facilities. The goal is to reach beam energies of up to 10 MeV and beam powers of more than 1 MW, which would significantly increase the field of potential applications in industry and environmental remediation such as wastewater treatment.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Cornell University, and Ion Linac Systems are performing a design study of a superconducting energy-recovery-linac as an efficient industrial irradiation source for wastewater treatment. Employing higher temperature cryocooled Nb3Sn superconducting cavities, an accelerator capable of producing more than 1 MW of 10 MeV beam will be designed.

 

Compact Accelerators for Security and Medicine

R&D in this topic is aimed at cost-effective, robust, automated, near-term compact sources of particles and radiation that enable new capabilities in security and medicine.

 

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, General Atomics, TeleSecurity Sciences Inc and Imatrex Inc will collaborate to develop a compact linac for medical and security applications with tunable pulse-to-pulse output beam energy. The new highly efficient traveling wave accelerating structure will enable this 60 cm linac to achieve an output energy of up to 10 MeV when powered by a compact 9.3 GHz, 1.7 MW magnetron.

 


Long-Term Accelerator R&D with Broad Applications

Awards in this category fund long-term accelerator R&D of broad benefit to many applications, for efforts aimed at a significant increase in accelerator performance and/or decrease in cost.

Noise in Intense Electron Bunches

University of Chicago, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are pursuing theoretical and experimental studies of electron beam noise at infrared wavelength scales. Understanding the impact that acceleration and beam manipulation have on beam noise has implications for coherent x-ray generation and hadron beam cooling.

Beam Windows for Megawatt-class Irradiators

Old Dominion University and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are exploring the role materials, granular structure, and diffusion barriers can play in extending the lifetime of high-power beam windows. Creep, plastic deformation, and radiation-driven corrosion are among the mechanisms that will be explored in detail through irradiation and microstructural analysis.

 

Optimized Production of Superconducting Films

Old Dominion University, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are developing advanced magnetron sputtering techniques to produce the precisely controlled Nb3Sn films needed for high performance superconducting cavities. Co-sputtering, multi-layer, and stoichiometric-source sputtering techniques are being investigated.


Accelerator Technology Sector Business Plans

Two awards were made for teams to work collaboratively to develop a strategic plan specifically tailored to one sector of the accelerator technology space. Awards are for up to $200k and up to one year in duration.

Advanced Superconductors and Magnets

Florida State University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Larke Business Solutions are working with the broader R&D and industrial communities to produce a strategic business plan for superconducting wire, cable, and high field magnets. The plan will identify the R&D and manufacturing needs for superconducting technologies used for scientific, security, green energy, medical, and industrial applications.

Radiofrequency Power Sources

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Cornell University, RadiaBeam, and TibaRay are working with the broader R&D and industrial communities to produce a strategic business plan for high power radiofrequency power source manufacturing The plan will identify the R&D and manufacturing needs for radiofrequency sources used for scientific, security, environmental, medical, and industrial applications.


FY 2020

Twelve awards were provided on a competitive basis in FY 2020 that seek to improve accelerator technologies across a wide range of applications, including accelerator-based scientific research in such fields as particle physics and materials science, and uses of accelerators for medicine, industry and defense.


Accelerator Technology for Cancer Therapy

Awards in this area are for translational R&D to adapt accelerator technologies used for discovery science to provide faster, better, and less expensive patient treatments with proton and carbon ion beams.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,Varian Medical Systems Particle Therapy, and thePaul Scherrer Institutewill develop a superconducting gantry for proton therapy. The use of novel, high-temperature superconducting magnet technology eliminates risks associated with superconducting magnet field change during treatment and enables cost savings through simplification of the cryogenic system.


High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers
 “Ultrafast” lasers—lasers producing pulses shorter than 1 picosecond—are widely used in scientific research as probes for chemistry, material science, and biology, and are also used to generate, accelerate, and control particle beams. Raising the pulse rate of such lasers 1000x will greatly increase the science that can be accomplished.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Michigan, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are developing coherent combination of fiber lasers to realize highly efficient ultrashort pulse lasers with an unprecedented combination of high repetition rate and energy. With key enabling concepts recently demonstrated, development is focusing on a 100mJ energy-level demonstration, on technologies to access 100fs pulse lengths and to improve pre-pulse contrast, and on an integrated design to scale future systems to the multi-Joule energies needed by compact laser-plasma particle accelerators and other societally important applications. 

University of Alabama, Birmingham, University of California Los Angeles, and Brookhaven National Laboratory are collaborating to develop optically-pumped LWIR ultrafast lasers using MWIR laser pumping. A sequence of NIR and MWIR lasers will be used to generate both high energy pump radiation at 4.3 microns and ultrafast seed pulses suitable for pumping and seeding a high pressure isotopic CO2 mixture to produce ultrashort high energy LWIR pulses.


High-Efficiency High Power Electron Accelerator Technology

Technologies capable of providing megawatt-class electron beams for industrial use are rare and expensive. Research in this topic area aims to significantly increase the power and reduce the cost of very high power electron accelerator technology. 

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, L3Harris Electron Devices, and L3Harris Applied Technologies will demonstrate an 80 percent efficient, 100 kW CW High Efficiency Inductive Output Tube at 1.3 GHz and develop a conceptual design for a ten-beam, 1 MW version. The approach combines L3Harris’ proven broadcast amplifiers with modern high efficiency klystron design methods, and will significantly improve the overall efficiency of high power accelerator systems for environmental, medical, and food sterilization applications.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratoryand General Atomics will develop a compact, cost-effective, and energy-efficient linear accelerator for industrial waste treatment and sterilization with high energy and high power electron beams. Novel concepts will be used to achieve continuous wave, 1 MeV, 1 MW electron beam with an rf-to-beam efficiency greater than 95%.

 


Compact Accelerators for Security and Medicine

R&D in this topic is aimed at cost-effective, robust, automated, near-term compact sources of particles and radiation that enable new capabilities in security and medicine.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University School of Medicine, and TibaRay Inc. will develop a particle accelerator system to deliver very high energy electrons (up to 100 MeV) in a clinical setting. The results of this R&D will enable, for the first time, direct electron beam therapy for tumors throughout the body at an ultra-fast “FLASH” dose rate that could allow more healthy tissue sparing and overcome challenges of patient motion.

Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ­will develop adaptive machine learning-driven diagnostics and controls for compact accelerators with a focus on ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) for mesoscale material science dynamics. The goal is to develop algorithms that automatically and autonomously adjust for time variation, unmodeled changes, and disturbances to continuously achieve optimal control without the need for constant intervention from beam physics experts, a capability which is of great importance for space-based and medical accelerators.

 


Long-Term Accelerator R&D with Broad Applications

Awards in this category fund long-term accelerator R&D of broad benefit to many applications, for efforts aimed at a significant increase in accelerator performance and/or decrease in cost. .

   
High Accuracy Modeling of Spin-Polarized Beams
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque and Cornell University will continue to develop spin matching for electron storage rings, and check its efficacy with fast spin-orbit tracking algorithms. Cornell University will develop the required simulation modules for studying spin and will incorporate the modules, along with software developed elsewhere, into the widely used software package Bmad. 
 
Next-Generation Ultrafast Electron Diffraction

Cornell University will use the injector section of CBETA to simulate the shortest bunches with small emittance that can be obtained in the MeV energy range, from the DC electron source through Injector cyomodule to the diagnostics line and the merger section connecting the two. Ultrafast Electron Diffraction (UED) is an active area for accelerator physicists and condensed matter physics alike, as it has the potential to form images similar to electron microscopes but with extreme time resolution, for example to produce movies faster than lattice dynamics.

   
Advanced Photocathodes with Integrated Photonics
University of Southern California and Arizona State University will collaborate to integrate photonics technologies with modern-day photocathodes to revolutionize photoemission-based electron sources. This could lead to higher electron beam brightness and novel beam shaping techniques, enhancing the performance of various particle accelerator and ultrafast electron microscopy applications.
   
Turn-Key High Power SRF Accelerators

Cornell University will develop and test key technology needed for realizing turn-key, high-power accelerators based on superconducting accelerating cavities for a wide range of compact accelerator applications in industry and science, cutting across disciplines. This work will explore next-generation microwave cavities based on the superconductor Nb3Sn, cooled by conduction using commercial cryocoolers.


Facilitated Use of Office of Science Accelerator R&D Capabilities

One award was made under the Accelerator Stewardship Test Facility Program to facilitate access to the unique accelerator research capabilities of the Office of Science National Laboratories. Awards are for up to $300k and up to one year in duration.
   
Robust Superlattice Photocathodes for High Current Spin-Polarized Beams

Cornell University and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility will perform experiments aimed at developing new methods to produce robust Negative Electron Affinity activation layers in GaAs-based photocathodes for the production of highly spin-polarized electron beams.  Photocathodes coated using these robust layers will be used to perform lifetime and polarimetry measurements in an electron gun with beam energies up to 200 kV and with high currents in mA range.

FY 2019

Thirteen awards were provided on a competitive basis in FY 2019 that seek to improve accelerator technologies across a wide range of applications, including accelerator-based scientific research in such fields as particle physics and materials science, and uses of accelerators for medicine, industry and defense.


High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers
“Ultrafast” lasers—lasers producing pulses shorter than 1 picosecond—are widely used in scientific research as probes for chemistry, material science, and biology, and are also used to generate, accelerate, and control particle beams. Raising the pulse rate of such lasers 1000x will greatly increase the science that can be accomplished.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will probe the limits of Helium gas cooling of laser amplifier slabs, paving the way for a 100-1000× increase in the average power of state-of-the-art ultrashort pulsed high peak power laser systems.

Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Central Florida, and II-VI Incorporated

Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Central Florida, and II-VI Incorporated will conduct a systematic study of properties of a broad range of materials under the action of highly-intense long-wave infrared (LWIR) laser pulses. The results of this study will be applied to advance high-peak-power LWIR lasers into the sub-picosecond mode of operation via non-linear pulse compression.


High-Efficiency High Power Electron Accelerator Technology
Technologies capable of providing megawatt-class electron beams for industrial use are rare and expensive. Research in this topic area aims to significantly increase the power and reduce the cost of very high power electron accelerator technology.

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and General Atomics

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and General Atomics will prototype and test a single-cell superconducting radiofrequency accelerating cavity inside a cryostat cooled by conduction using cryocoolers. The aim is to demonstrate achieving an accelerating gradient usable for a 1 MeV, 1 MW-class continuous-wave electron accelerator for treatment of wastewater or flue gases.

 

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and General Atomics

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and General Atomics will team up to design an economical superconducting accelerating structure capable of producing high-power, high-energy electron beams for environmental applications. The team will adopt a new cryocooling technology to demonstrate operation of the prototype accelerating structure at cryogenic temperatures.

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in partnership with ScanTech Sciences Inc. and Hampton Roads Sanitation District

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in partnership with ScanTech Sciences Inc. and Hampton Roads Sanitation District will develop 500 kW-class highly-efficient industrial accelerators using a newly designed room-temperature accelerating structure. These accelerators are tailored for use in cleaning up wastewater streams, but are also beneficial for many other applications including fracking fluid remediation, medical sterilization and food pasteurization.


Long-Term Accelerator R&D with Broad Applications
Awards in this category fund long-term accelerator R&D of broad benefit to many applications, for efforts aimed at a significant increase in accelerator performance and/or decrease in cost.

Northern Illinois University

Simulation of High-Performance Electron Sources

Northern Illinois University will develop state-of-the-art numerical methods and software frameworks to enable ultra-cold and ultra-bright electron source optimization and performance characterization.

Michigan State University

Light and Electron Emission as RF Breakdown Probes

Michigan State University will collaborate with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory to develop a deeper understanding of physical origins of the vacuum breakdown/arc by testing the hot cathodic scenario of its formation. The new knowledge will help reduce breakdown, allowing more compact, cost-effective sources of high brightness X-rays, and cancer therapy systems.

University of California, Los Angeles

Theoretical and Experimental Investigation in Accelerator Physics

University of California, Los Angeles will undertake a wide ranging suite of investigations in advanced accelerator science, with a particular concentration on high gradient acceleration. These new methods will enable compact accelerators for applications ranging from light sources to frontier discovery accelerators, and to direct exploitation of electron beams in imaging.

Stony Brook University and University of Rochester

Meter-scale Plasma Channels by Superluminal Ionization Waves

Stony Brook University and University of Rochester will explore the application of chromatic focusing of broadband lasers to the production of meter-long plasma channels. Such channels can be used for particle acceleration, radiation generation, fusion research, and novel amplification techniques for short pulse lasers.

University of Illinois at Chicago will collaborate with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

From Theory to Practical High-Brightness Photocathodes
University of Illinois at Chicago will collaborate with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to employ computational techniques to select and subsequently measure candidate practical high brightness photocathodes that promise to improve the performance of current (and future) x-ray free electron lasers and ultrafast electron scattering and imaging systems.

Florida State University and Michigan State University

Impacts of Microstructure on Niobium Superconducting RF Cavity Performance

Florida State University and Michigan State University will work to develop a fundamental materials understanding of high purity niobium metal used for particle accelerators, light sources, quantum computing and sensitive detector applications. The ability to understand defects and their origin will help us to develop of cost effective fabrication strategies for next generation superconducting radio frequency cavities.


Facilitated Use of Office of Science Accelerator R&D Capabilities
Two awards were made under the Accelerator Stewardship Test Facility Program to facilitate access to the unique accelerator research capabilities of the Office of Science National Laboratories. Awards are for up to $300k and up to one year in duration.

Florida State University and Michigan State University

Development of High Performance Medium Velocity Superconducting Elliptical Cavities for Hadron Linacs

Michigan State University, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory will develop advanced surface treatments for high performance superconducting cavities for acceleration of ions in the energy range from 200 MeV/u to 400 MeV/u. The results of this R&D will directly reduce the size and cost of superconducting accelerators, benefitting both discovery science and medicine.

Stony Brook University, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Application of Electron Beam Technology to Decompose Persistent Emerging Drinking Water Contaminants

Stony Brook University, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have partnered to test the application of e-beam accelerator to treat emerging contaminants such as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane in drinking water.

FY 2018

Thirteen awards were provided on a competitive basis in FY 2018 that seek to improve accelerator technologies across a wide range of applications, including accelerator-based scientific research in such fields as particle physics and materials science, and uses of accelerators for medicine, industry and defense.

Accelerator Technology for Cancer Therapy

Awards in this area are for translational R&D to adapt accelerator technologies used for discovery science to provide faster, better, and less expensive patient treatments with proton and carbon ion beams.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, and Varian Medical Systems Inc. will develop a compact particle beam delivery system for cancer therapy capable of delivering beams with rapid (seconds) 3D scanning. This proposal leverages recent advances in RF accelerator technology to achieve this rapid energy and angular modulation.

Argonne National Laboratory, AML Superconductivity and Magnetics, ProNova Solutions, and the Chicago Proton Center will develop scanning magnets to enable compact superconducting gantries for carbon ion beam cancer therapy. The same system would enable even more compact superconducting proton gantries with smaller foot-print than existing designs. The projected outcome is significant reduction in size and cost of beam delivery systems for proton and ion beam therapy.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Varian Medical Systems Particle Therapy will develop a novel superconducting magnet design with fully achromatic optics for proton therapy gantries. The technique will eliminate the need for magnet ramping during treatment, providing potential cost savings by simplifying the cryogenic system and opening possible new treatment opportunities.


High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers

“Ultrafast” lasers—lasers producing pulses shorter than 1 picosecond—are widely used in scientific research as probes for chemistry, material science, and biology, and are also used to generate, accelerate, and control particle beams. Raising the pulse rate of such lasers 1000x will greatly increase the science that can be accomplished.

 

Colorado State University, University of Maryland, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Few-Cycle, Inc. are collaborating to develop advanced technologies for thermal management, cryo-cooling, bandwidth broadening, and high strength optical coatings for high energy, high repetition rate, ultrafast laser systems.

 

Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester and Plymouth Grating Laboratory will develop advanced broadband gratings with active cooling for compact, high-average-power (HAP) pulse compressors. Gratings on novel substrates with superior thermomechanical properties and active cooling will support HAP laser pulse compression. The team will design, fabricate, and test broadband grating prototypes suitable for thermal loading and short-pulse damage testing.

University of Michigan will develop advanced techniques for high power laser beam control and feedback. Such techniques are essential for making high-quality particle accelerators.


High-Efficiency High Power Electron Accelerator Technology

Technologies capable of providing megawatt-class electron beams for industrial use are rare and expensive. Research in this topic area aims to significantly increase the power and reduce the cost of very high power electron accelerator technology.

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and General Atomics are funded to develop a compact high-power high-efficiency radio frequency (RF) power source for next generation particle accelerators for energy, environmental, medical, scientific, industrial and defense applications. The modular power source will take advantage of low cost commercially available magnetron RF sources (similar to those found in home and industrial microwave ovens), state of the art control techniques, and highly efficient combiners to demonstrate a pathway to megawatt-class power.

Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Maryland will design a novel radio-frequency klystron amplifier with the promise of greatly increased wall-plug efficiency (reducing the power bill for high power accelerators). The new concept is based on decelerating the electron beam in the klystron and letting the electron beam undergo nonlinear bunching due to its own space-charge forces - once highly bunched, the beam is then re-accelerated with a low energy spread which allows more efficient power extraction.


Long-Term Accelerator R&D with Broad Applications

Awards in this category fund long-term accelerator R&D of broad benefit to many applications, for efforts aimed at a significant increase in accelerator performance and/or decrease in cost.


Advanced Methods for Modeling Nonlinear Dynamics

Michigan State University will develop a new 6-dimensional square matrix method to analyze the nonlinear dynamics of particle accelerators. This work is a necessary step to apply the square matrix method to understanding the nonlinear resonance and parameter optimization in future high performance circular accelerators.


Machine Learning for Robust Operation of Accelerators

University of New Mexico and Ion Linac Systems will use machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop accelerator control algorithms that will enable new applications in industry, medicine, and other fields. The work will focus on both algorithmic development and deployment on operational accelerators.


Advanced Concepts for Laser Plasma Accelerators

Cornell University will explore methods to extend plasma interaction distances and potentially enable a new type of radiation source, the ion channel laser.


Plasma Accelerators for Compact Gamma-Ray Sources

University of Nebraska-Lincoln is using high-power ultrafast lasers to improve the performance of advanced laser-driven plasma wakefield electron accelerators, which have applications in research, medicine, industry, defense, and national security.


Facilitated Use of Office of Science Accelerator R&D Capabilities

For the first time in 2018, an award was made under the Accelerator Stewardship Test Facility Program to facilitate access to the unique accelerator research capabilities of the Office of Science National Laboratories. Awards are for up to $300k and up to one year in duration.


Preliminary Investigation of Novel Superconductors for Complex Cavity Geometries

Old Dominion University and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have partnered to do preliminary investigation of the application of novel superconductors and processing techniques to superconducting rf (SRF) cavities of complex geometries. This could lead to the development of small, affordable SRF accelerators for a wide range of applications such as compact light sources.

 

FY 2017

Eight awards were provided on a competitive basis in FY 2017 that seek to improve accelerator technologies across a wide range of applications, including accelerator-based scientific research in such fields as particle physics and materials science, and uses of accelerators for industry and defense.

High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers

“Ultrafast” lasers—lasers producing pulses shorter than 1 picosecond—are widely used in scientific research as probes for chemistry, material science, and biology, and are also used to generate, accelerate, and control particle beams. Raising the pulse rate of such lasers 1000x will greatly increase the science that can be accomplished.

High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Michigan, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are funded to demonstrate a fiber laser that combines light pulses coherently in space and time, giving a 300x energy increase in pulse energy.  The system is inherently scalable; one with a 50,000x energy increase could enable compact, high efficiency  fiber lasers to reach the pulse energies needed by  "tabletop" laser-plasma particle accelerators, which would benefit many societally important applications.  

High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers

University of Alabama Birmingham, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California Los Angeles, and Brookhaven National Laboratory have teamed up to demonstrate a broadband high-pressure CO2 amplifier optically pumped by pulses from an energetic mid-infrared laser system. Through experiments and simulations innovative combinations of novel gas laser and solid-state laser technologies will be explored and optimized for production of very high power long-wave infrared ultrafast pulses at a high repetition rate.


Concept Studies of Accelerators for Energy & Environmental Applications

Two teams were awarded funds to complete technical and economic feasibility design studies of very high average power electron accelerator technologies that can drive new methods of wastewater, bio-solid, flue gas, and medical waste cleanup.

Concept Studies of Accelerators for Energy & Environmental Applications
  1. Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Air Force Research Laboratory will investigate a new accelerator design – the radial RF beam source.  Capable of generating an annular electron beam, the new source design may present advantages for waste-stream processing if scaled to high average power.  LANL and AFRL will model the performance of the new accelerator design, and perform initial scoping studies for efficiency and cost of operations;

     

  2. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago have partnered to develop a conceptual design for a very high power (~10 MW-class) superconducting accelerator to address the requirements of a large municipality for treating wastewater and biosolid streams.

Optimized Design of Spin-Polarized Beams

Optimized Design of Spin-Polarized Beams

University of New Mexico, the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, and Cornell University will collaborate to improve the polarization control of electron and positron beams in accelerators and storage rings. A widely-used computer simulation tool will be extended to include advanced optimization techniques for polarization control. The enhanced software will be applied to design new particle accelerators that extend the reach of science.


Systematic Study of Broadband Multipactor

Systematic Study of Broadband Multipactor

University of California Davis, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will develop and carry out full spectrum, radio frequency (RF) laboratory tests aimed at understanding breakdown phenomena (“multipactor”) and evaluate novel techniques to detect and mitigate breakdown before damage can occur to particle accelerators, space-based RF systems, and in other high power microwave (HPM) applications.


Very High Current Electron Sources for Industrial Applications

Very High Current Electron Sources for Industrial Applications

Northern Illinois University and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will explore designs of high-current electron sources for integration into a superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) injector. Field-emission and thermionic cathodes will be tested in high energy efficiency SRF resonant cavities. The proposed electron sources will enable the development of multi-megawatt electron accelerators for industrial and societal applications.


Advanced Approaches to Superconducting Cavities

Advanced Approaches to Superconducting Cavities

Florida State University, University of Texas–Arlington, and DMS South / Bailey Tool LLC will team to develop methods to form superconducting Nb3Sn coatings inside copper accelerating cavities. The outcome could lead to reduction of materials cost by a factor of 20, enhanced flexibility of cavity design, and operation of high-power accelerated beams for industrial applications without complicated helium cryogenics.

FY 2016

Nine awards were provided on a competitive basis in FY 2016 that seek to improve accelerator technologies across a wide range of applications, including accelerator-based scientific research in such fields as particle physics and materials science, uses of accelerators for industry and defense, and medical applications for advanced cancer therapies.

High Precision Beam Detectors for Cancer Therapy

Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Best Medical International will adapt high-speed diamond-based x-ray detectors for use in high precision proton and carbon ion beam position and dosimetry monitoring. The new detectors will provide three orders of magnitude improvement in speed and precision, while also improving durability over current technology.


High-Efficiency High Power Ultrafast Lasers

Colorado State University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Maryland will develop advanced laser technologies for thermal management, cryo cooling, and high strength optical coatings, deploying them on a prototype high power ultrafast laser system.

University of Michigan will develop advanced techniques for high power laser beam control and feedback. Such techniques are essential for making high-quality particle accelerators.


Concept Studies of Accelerators for Energy & Environmental Applications

Three teams were awarded funds to complete technical and economic feasibility design studies of very high average power electron accelerator technologies that can drive new methods of wastewater, bio-solid, flue gas, and medical waste cleanup.

  1. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Colorado State University, Northern Illinois University, Calabazas Creek Research, Euclid TechLabs, Advanced Energy Systems, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago have teamed up to develop a concept for a high power superconducting accelerator that could transform water treatment, improving quality and lowering consumer costs;
  2. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, General Atomics, and Texas A&M University have teamed up to develop a concept for highly efficient, high average power industrial systems with reduced construction and operating costs for energy & environmental applications; and
  3. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Advanced Energy Systems, and General Atomics have teamed up to develop a concept for a high power superconducting accelerator for SOx and NOx removal in flue gases, and waste water treatment.

New Sources of Particles and Radiation

University of California, Los Angeles is funded to conduct a broad R&D program in novel techniques for particle generation, acceleration, and radiation generation. These techniques will lead to new tools for material science and future generations of compact accelerators.


Fundamental Studies of Superconductors

Michigan State University, Florida State University, Ohio State University, Arizona State University, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have teamed up to take an interdisciplinary approach to studying the fundamental properties of niobium as a superconductor. Better understanding of the underlying material properties will significantly improve the performance and reduce the cost of accelerators.

FY 2015

Six grants were awarded on a competitive basis in FY 2015 that seek to improve accelerator technologies across a wide range of applications, including accelerator-based scientific research in such fields as particle physics and materials science, uses of accelerators for industry and defense, and medical applications for advanced cancer therapies.

Superconducting Magnet Technology for Cancer Therapy

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Paul Scherrer Institute, and Varian Particle Therapy, Inc. will develop light-weight superconducting magnet technology that will reduce the size and weight of particle beam delivery systems for cancer therapy by nearly a factor of 10. Leveraging technologies and techniques developed for the magnets of the Large Hadron Collider, a prototype gantry bending magnet will be built and tested.


Superconducting Cyclotrons for Cancer Therapy

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ProNova Solutions, LLC will develop an innovative design for an ironless superconducting cyclotron capable of providing particle beams for cancer therapy. Cyclotrons today account for nearly 60% of all particle beam therapy machines in the world. This iron-free design will weigh 6 times less than conventional devices.


Ultrafast Laser Technology R&D for Accelerators

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of Michigan will test technologies that promise to increase the speed of laser-based science 1000 times. Ultrafast lasers—emitting pulses a few millionths of a billionth of a second in duration—are widely used in chemistry, biology and material science, and show promise for driving entirely new kinds of compact particle accelerators. The efficiency, reliability, and low cost of fiber lasers have led to rapid growth of their use in material processing industries. Adapting these technologies to produce higher pulse energy will speed ultrafast laser-based science, and enable compact sources of particles for a wide variety of basic research and security applications.


Energy Efficiency Improvements for Office of Science Accelerators

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Communications & Power Industries, LLC will develop energy recapture technology that can potentially save $1M per year in operating costs for Basic Energy Sciences’ LCLS facility, and which could be applied wherever klystron-powered linacs are used. A significant number of accelerators are powered by high power radiofrequency sources that rarely exceed 50% energy efficiency. The new technology will capture and recycle a significant portion of the unused 50%, raising the energy efficiency to 75%, saving on operating costs and reducing DOE’s carbon footprint.

In addition to the applied R&D thrusts described above, the Stewardship program makes long-term investments in basic R&D to develop new concepts, methods, and underlying technologies needed to maintain U.S. leadership in accelerator technology.


Accelerator Control Systems

Cornell University will apply advanced optimization techniques to automate the control of complex accelerators. Modern accelerators often have thousands of “knobs” that must be precisely tuned to keep the accelerator operating at peak performance. Cornell’s automation and optimization techniques will improve the performance of accelerators large and small.


Innovative Beam Dynamics for High Power Accelerators

Texas A&M University will explore strong focusing techniques in cyclotrons to increase the beam power that this workhorse accelerator can produce. Widely used for medical and industrial uses, increased beam power equates to increases in material processing throughput and will enable new applications for this well-established technology. TAMU’s R&D studies will tackle challenging beam dynamics issues that limit the power cyclotrons can produce.