The UMD Radiation Facilities’ Electron Linear Accelerator (Linac) is a modified Varian Clinac-6 (V7715) installed in 1986. The accelerator uses an S-Band 1.5 meter traveling wave accelerator cavity to accelerate a 100 mA beam of electrons, in 3 μs pulses, to approximately 6 MeV. The beam can be pulsed up to 200 times per second for an average beam power of 370 watts. The beam spot is up to 18 cm FWHM at 1 m from the beam window, and the dose is approximately 1 Gy/pulse. Details of the beam characterization are available here.

The linac is the highest dose rate facility at the UMDRF, capable of producing doses up to 145 MRad/hr. It has applications in radiation hardness testing for materials and electronics, radiation curing of materials, energy storage research, and instrumentation development.

The accelerator is housed in a shielded vault, and the beamline passes through a wall into another large shielded vault where experiments may easily be set up. Power, compressed air, and water are available in the vault, and additional cables can be run for experiments requiring instrumentation. Workbenches are available just outside of the vault for equipment setup and monitoring. Radiochromic film dosimetry is available upon request.

If you are interested in using the Linac, fill out the Experiment Application and contact us at radiation@umd.edu.