A High-Power Test of an X-Band Molybdenum-Iris Structure

In order to achieve accelerating gradients above 150 MV/m, alternative materials to copper are being investigated by the CLIC study. The potential of refractory metals has already been demonstrated in tests in which a tungsten-iris and a molybdenum-iris structure reached 150 and 193 MV/m respectively (30 GHz and a pulse length of 15 ns). In order to extend the investigation to the pulse lengths required for a linear collider, a molybdenum-iris structure scaled to X-band was tested at the Next Linear Collider Test Accelerator (NLCTA). The structure conditioned to only 65 MV/m (100 ns pulse length) in the available testing time and much more slowly than is typical of a copper structure. However the structure showed no sign of saturation and a microscopic inspection of the rf surfaces corroborated that the structure was still at an early stage of conditioning. The X-band and 30 GHz results are compared and what has been learned about material quality, surface preparation and conditioning strategy is discussed.