(Los Angeles, CA, 24MAY04) RadiaBeam Technologies, LLC has won a Small Business Innovation in Research (SBIR) Phase I award from the Department of Energy. The title of the awarded project is "An Inexpensive High-Current Betatron Using Fixed-Field Alternating-Gradient Focusing and New Low-Loss Magnetic Materials."
The SBIR program is a highly competitive grant system that encourages small business to explore their technological potential. SBIR funds the critical startup and development stages and it encourages the commercialization of the technology, product, or service, which, in turn, stimulates the U.S. economy. Since its enactment in 1982, as part of the Small Business Innovation Development Act, SBIR has helped thousands of small businesses to compete for federal research and development awards. In 2004, there were 1,375 applications submitted to the Department of Energy, of which 300 were granted.
Under the grant, RadiaBeam will develop a new type of accelerator based on significant improvements to the betatron. The betatron uses magnetic induction to accelerate electrons, making it much less expensive and complicated than radio-frequency acceleration. However, for commercial applications, it fell out of favor in the 1960's due to limited power output.
"With modern design tools, new ultra-low loss magnetic materials, and the application of Fixed Field Alternating Gradient Focusing, we will be able to match the performance of RF linacs at a lower price" stated Salime Boucher, President of RadiaBeam Technologies. According to Boucher, accelerator-generated radiation is used in many industries, such as plastics processing, product sterilization and food irradiation, as well as for cargo-inspection and other homeland-security applications. In addition, accelerators are used to treat cancer, and a more affordable accelerator would help extend modern cancer therapies to poorer nations. The International Atomic Energy Association predicts that 10,000 new radiotherapy machines will be needed in developing countries by 2015 to meet a growing epidemic of cancer.
RadiaBeam Technologies will collaborate with UCLA's Particle Beam Physics Laboratory, headed by Professor James Rosenzweig. Dr. Fred Mills, a world-renowned accelerator physicist who participated in the early development of Fixed Field Alternating Gradient accelerators 50 years ago, will consult for the project.
Additional information on RadiaBeam is available at the company web site: http://www.radiabeam.com/
About RadiaBeam Technologies, LLC
RadiaBeam Technologies manufactures products, performs directed research, and provides custom design and engineering services in the beam and accelerator research sector.
Our products come from technology transfer, licensing and original designs. We focus on novel acceleration methods, diagnostics, subsystems and EM radiation production.
The company has three main regimes of specialization: high brightness beams, femtosecond systems, and novel industrial / medical accelerators.
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