Modeling and simulation of klystron-modulator for linear accelerators in PRTA

Approximately 70 of commercial industries worldwide use electron accelerator technology for various irradiation processes. The advantages of irradiation processes compared to thermal and chemical processes are higher output levels, reduced energy consumption, less environmental pollution, and producing superior product quality and having unique characteristics that cannot be imitated by other methods. Research Center for Accelerator Technology (PRTA), BRIN, Indonesia is developing standing wave LINAC (SWL) for food irradiation applications at S-band frequencies (±2856 MHz), electron energy of 6-18 MeV, and an average beam power of 20 kW. This paper aims to model, simulate, and analyze the klystron modulator in the RF linear accelerator (LINAC). The klystron modulator is the main component of the RF LINAC, which functions to supply klystron power with the order of megawatt peak DC, so that the klystron can amplify the low-level RF signal from the RF driver into a high-power RF signal with a power of 2-6 MW peak. The klystron modulator modeling is carried out based on mathematical modeling, then simulated using LTspice to analyze the system performance of the klystron modulator. The results of the klystron modulator modeling simulation show stable system performance and dynamic response. So that it meets the specifications of the 6-18 MeV SWL LINAC being developed by PRTA-BRIN. © 2025, Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.