Development of a fully modular electrostatic accelerator

An innovative electrostatic particle accelerator was developed by INFN and Padova University. The high voltage generation scheme is based on a recent technique which generates it through series connection of lower voltage stages made of independently stabilized generators, each one providing a remotely settable voltage, actively controlled at about (Formula presented) V/V stability.All the power needed for the operation is supplied to each stage by laser light fed to high efficiency photovoltaic cells through optical fibres. The all-optical feeding scheme decouples each stage from other stages and ground reference. The maximum attainable voltage is thus limited only by the insulation of the last stage with respect to the mechanical structure of the container. We tested electrical insulation provided both by a dielectric liquid and high-pressure gases, choosing the former one eventually.The accelerator, produced in a tandem scheme, with a stripping carousel for continuous operation, was fully engineered, assembled and tested for high voltage, yet without ion beam. The concept, the design, the realization and the experimental results will be discussed.