Characteristics of a betatron core for extraction in a proton-ion medical synchrotron

Medical synchrotrons for radiation therapy require a very stable extraction of the beam over a period of about one second. The techniques for applying resonant extraction to achieve this long spill can be classified into two groups, those that move the resonance and those that move the beam. The latter has the great advantage of keeping all lattice functions, and hence the resonance conditions, constant. The present report examines the possibility of using a betatron core to accelerate the waiting ion beam by induction into the resonance. The working principle, the proposed characteristics and the expected performances of this device are discussed. The betatron core is a smooth high-inductance device compared to the small quadrupole lenses that are normally used to move the resonance and is therefore better suited to delivering a very smooth spill. The large stored energy in a betatron core compared to a small quadrupole is also a safety feature since it responds less quickly to transients that could send large beam spikes to the patient.