A Compact High-Frequency RFQ for Medical Applications

In the frame of a new program for medical applications, CERN has designed and is presently constructing a compact 750 MHz Radio Frequency Quadrupole to be used as injector for hadron therapy linacs. The RFQ reaches an energy of 5 MeV in only 2 meters; it is divided into four standardized modules of 500 mm, each equipped with 12 tuner ports and one RF input. The inner quadrant radius is 46 mm and the RFQ has an outer diameter of 134 mm; its total weight is only 220 kg. The beam dynamics and RF design have been optimized for reduced length and minimum RF power consumption; construction techniques have been adapted for future industrial production. The multiple RF ports are foreseen for using either 4 solid-state units or 4 IOT’s as RF power sources. Although hadron therapy requires only a low duty cycle, the RFQ has been designed for 5% duty cycle in view of other uses. This extremely compact and economical RFQ design opens several new perspectives for medical applications, in particular for PET isotopes production in hospitals with two coupled high-frequency RFQs reaching 10 MeV and for Technetium production for SPECT tomography with two RFQs followed by a DTL.