• J.T.M. Lyles, S. Archuletta, N.K. Bultman, Z.C. Chen, J. Davis, A.C. Naranjo, D. Rees, G. M. Sandoval, Jr., D.S. Warren
  LANL, Los Alamos, New Mexico
• D. Baca, R.E. Bratton, R.D. Summers
  Compa Industries, Inc., Los Alamos, New Mexico

An major upgrade is replacing much of the 40 year-old proton drift tube linac RF system with new components at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). When installed for the LANSCE-R project, the new system will reduce the total number of electron power tubes from twenty-four to eight in the RF powerplant. A new 200 MHz high power cavity amplifier has been developed at LANSCE. This 3.2 MW final power amplifier (FPA) uses a Thales TH628 Diacrode, a state-of-the-art tetrode that eliminates the large anode modulator of the triode-based FPA that has been in use for four decades. Drive power for the FPA is provided by a new tetrode intermediate power amplifier and a solid-state driver stage. The new system has sufficient duty-factor capability to allow LANSCE to return to 1 MW beam operation. Prototype RF power amplifiers have been designed, fabricated, and assembled and are being tested. High voltage DC power became available through innovative re-engineering of an installed system. Details of the electrical and mechanical design of the FPA and ancillary systems are discussed. Power test results have validated the design and construction of this very high power amplifier system.