Dielectric wall accelerator

The main conceptual difference to a conventional disk-loaded linac system is given by the additional dielectric wall and the coupler construction.

[clarification needed] Possible uses of this concept include its application in external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) using protons or ions.

An external alternating-current power supply provides an electromagnetic wave that is transmitted to the accelerator tube using a waveguide.

[2] Electromagnetic induction creates a traveling electric field, which accelerates charged particles.

The traveling wave overlaps with the position of the charged particles, leading to their acceleration inside as they pass through the tube's vacuum channel.

Depending on the desired final beam energy, the conventional medical accelerator solutions (cyclotrons and small synchrotrons) can have large cost factors and space requirements, which could be circumvented by DWAs.