A compact multiplexer for linear accelerator systems

This article presents a compact multiplexer for rapid power distribution in linear accelerator high-power waveguide systems. The compact multiplexer consists of a single-input multiple-output (SIMO) microwave network and several bandpass filters. When the input microwave frequency is within the passband of any filter, the input microwave is matched to transmit to the corresponding output port. An X-band compact multiplexer, with one input port and three output ports, is designed, fabricated, and tested. The simulated transmission efficiency of each output branch is over 91%, and the simulations agree well with the test results. The proposed compact multiplexer is attractive for high-power radio-frequency (RF) systems with rapid power distribution demands and provides a potential solution for rapid multiangle irradiation field switching technologies, such as FLASH radiotherapy and stationary computed tomography (CT) technology.