RF power generation in LHC

The counter-rotating proton beams in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be captured and then accelerated to their final energies of 2 x 7 TeV by two identical 400 MHz RF systems. The RF power source required for each beam comprises eight 300 kW klystrons. The output power of each klystron is fed via a circulator and a waveguide line to the input coupler of a single-cell superconducting (SC) cavity. Four klystrons are powered by a 100 kV, 40 A AC/DC power converter, previously used for the operation of the LEP klystrons. A five-gap thyratron crowbar protects the four klystrons in each of these units. The technical specification and measured performance of the various high-power elements are discussed. These include the 400 MHz/ 300 kW klystrons with emphasis on their group delay and the three-port circulators, which have to cope with peak reflected power levels up to twice the simultaneously applied incident power of 300 kW. In addition, a novel ferrite loaded waveguide absorber, used as termination for port 3 of the circulator is described, including its advantages with respect to a water-load. A system to measure the harmonic content in the klystron output signal is also presented.