Patent ID: 9338875
Filing Date: 2016-05-10
CPC Classification: H05H

Claim Text:
1. A method of operating a betatron device having swing coils for accelerating electrons and having bias coils to provide electron pulses at different energies, the method comprising: operating the swing coils to generate a swing component of a total magnetic field at the electron orbit over a plurality of cycles, the electron orbit being a circular path in which accelerated electrons travel; operating the bias coils to generate a bias component of the total magnetic field at the electron orbit; operating the bias coils such that the bias magnetic component has a constant first magnitude during a first acceleration portion of a first cycle of the plurality of cycles; accelerating, with the swing coils, a first packet of electrons with a first swing in flux subject to the total magnetic field during the first acceleration portion of the first cycle to have a first energy, wherein the first packet of electrons is in a stable orbit during the first acceleration portion of the first cycle; expanding an electron orbit of the first packet of electrons at an end of the first acceleration portion; operating the bias coils such that the bias magnetic component has a constant second magnitude during a second acceleration portion of a second cycle of the plurality of cycles, the second magnitude being different than the first magnitude; and accelerating, with the swing coils, a second packet of electrons with a second swing in flux subject to the total magnetic field during the second acceleration portion of the second cycle to have a second energy, the second energy being different than the first energy.