Design of Ultra-light Superconducting Proton Cyclotron for Production of Isotopes for Medical Applications

A new design has been explored for a superconductingcoil-based compact cyclotron, which has many practical benefits over conventional superconducting cyclotrons. The iron yoke and poles in conventional superconducting cyclotrons have been avoided in this design. The azimuthally varying field is generated by superconducting sector-coils. The superconducting sector-coils and the circular main-coils have been housed in a single cryostat. It has resulted in an ultra-light 25 MeV proton cyclotron weighing about 2000 kg. Further, the sector coils and the main coils are fed by independent power supplies, which allow flexibility of operation through on-line magnetic field trimming. Here, we present design calculations and the engineering considerations, focused on making the cyclotron ideally suited for the production of radioisotopes for medical applications.