Radiofrequency Structures

The developmentRadiofrequency structure (also RF cavity) of resonant accelerators during the first half of the XX century allowed particles to reach kinetic energies one order magnitude higher than in electrostatic devices. Nowadays, kinetic energies approaching and exceeding the GeV-level are obtained by means of Alvarez-type RF structures, or RF cavities. RF structures installed in series and synchronized by an external common master clock constitute a linear accelerator or RF linac. Synchronization of RF field and particles’ arrival time implies a pulsed time pattern of the particle beam, i.e., a series of bunches.