ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of linear accelerators that are and can be used for industrial processing. The literature descriptions for particle accelerators are extensive. Particle accelerators are classified by the nature of the particles to be accelerated, by the physical nature of the machine, the accelerating electric fields, or by the temperature of the accelerating structure. A combination of the two results when the output from a linear machine is either used as a "booster" for a cyclic machine or if the output is recycled back to the input to achieve higher projectile energies. Every accelerator has numerous subsystems that must be integrated mechanically and electrically to achieve reliable operation. In a simplistic view, the subsystems are seven in number: electron source, vacuum, power, acceleration section, cooling, safety, and housing. In the consideration of any accelerator, three prime parameters characterize the beam, i.e., projectile, intensity, and energy.
