Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GreenSSPA (Implementation of Best Practice of Design Solid-State Power Amplifier for Developing New Generation PET Accelerators)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-09-01 do 2023-08-31
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is one of the most reliable clinical diagnostic methods used to detect neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease) and cancer. The early diagnosis of these diseases, which would be for example before a tumor grows too large or spreads dramatically, enhances the effectiveness of the possibility for treatment. PET technology is used to make an accurate and timely diagnosis/prognosis. It is however essential to speed up the diagnostic process, PET centers are usually limited to handle all of the demands on time in densely populate regions. A cyclotron is the most complicated and sophisticated part of a PET installation. It makes a strong electric field to accelerate particles, resulting in the production of radioisotopes. Hence, in hospital without a cyclotron and remote areas, it is a problem to deliver the radioactive material, as it has a short lifetime, half an hour to few hours and it costs quite a lot to ship the radioactive material by helicopter. One reasons for the project is to spread the availability of PET technology and so to meet scientific and societal needs. For economical or technical reasons PET scanners are not always available where they would be needed. Another reason for the development of new PET technologies is the emergence of new diagnostics based on short-lived PET radionuclides. These could be produced using relatively low energy particle accelerators, more easily deployed. Such radionuclides would decay in several minutes and therefore their production on site at hospitals is mandatory. Therefore the need for new PET technology that would allow on-site generation of short-lived radionuclides. The strong electric field is presently produced by a tetrode vacuum tube which is an outdated technology and is more and more expensive to use and maintain. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions program, the GreenSSPA project aims to develop solid-state transistor-based technology to replace the vacuum tube in the new generation of more compact cyclotron installations, making those more reliable, affordable and accessible to the largest public. In this project, we proposed to design and implement different SSPAs including a high efficiency 1-kW SSPA at 750 MHz as to investigate the possibility of implementing SSPAs with high output power levels and high efficiency.
The project is divided into four work packages (WP). It is started with the management, training and transfer of knowledge as WP1. In following, WP2 and WP3 focus on the design and development of the 1 kW solid state radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (SSPA). To this end, medium power amplifiers (200 W-SSPAs), splitters, combiners, coupler to measure the RF signal level and find ability to control the system, and other RF electronic circuits in parallel with mechanical structures will be designed and tested. WP4 consists of dissemination and exploitation the impact of the project with respect to the scientific and non-scientific community, as well as to the industry.
Recent studies have shown that Gallium Nitride (GaN) and laterally-diffused metal-oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) semiconductor technologies are capable of delivering very high power level, opening up a new opportunity for replacing vacuum tubes at high power levels. The research on GaN and LDMOS amplifier design have been carried out to develop RF amplifier at kilowatt levels, most of them are still in the early stage and require to be investigated more on new technology.
Beside of researching on the SSPAs within the scope of this research, we will employ a novel RF signal combination method to enhance the efficiency of the power combiner. It will be also possible to establish the feasibility for different applications of high power RF power. This project provides a deep understanding of the design approaches of SSPA in medical scanners, which can open new windows towards enhancing medical technologies.
The significant impact of new competences and skills on future success of the researcher are assessed below.
1) The project will contribute to obtaining of fruitful knowledge regarding the structure of cyclotron and SSPA structures from existing literature. Since cyclotrons are the most sophisticated component of a PET and also are widely employed in other medical industries (e.g. in proton therapy or particle physics), this skill facilitates extending the researcher’s knowledge to other particle accelerator projects after the fellowship.
2) The project associated with the design and implementation of RF/Microwave amplifiers which is the main area of expertise of the researcher and the host. Since RF amplifiers are widely used in a variety of industries (e.g. medical, research, physics, broadcast, cellar cell, Wi-Fi, RF IDs, weather, space, military, oil, and elsewhere), this skill makes them more experienced for subsequent projects.
3) The project will improve both the host and the researcher’s ability in the design of other sophisticated components of high-power microwave devices such as splitter, combiners, and couplers. Understanding the design methodology of the passive sub-systems is a highly valuable skill, since they are employed in the different fields of science e.g. proton therapy for cancer subjects, meteorology and civil and geology radars.
4) The project will provide to the experienced researcher the best mobility experience, both in term of moving between European countries and switching between academic and industry sectors. This experience will enlarge the researcher profile and extend the opportunities for future work position at home or in industry.
Beside of researching on the SSPAs within the scope of this research, we will employ a novel RF signal combination method to enhance the efficiency of the power combiner. It will be also possible to establish the feasibility for different applications of high power RF power. This project provides a deep understanding of the design approaches of SSPA in medical scanners, which can open new windows towards enhancing medical technologies.
The significant impact of new competences and skills on future success of the researcher are assessed below.
1) The project will contribute to obtaining of fruitful knowledge regarding the structure of cyclotron and SSPA structures from existing literature. Since cyclotrons are the most sophisticated component of a PET and also are widely employed in other medical industries (e.g. in proton therapy or particle physics), this skill facilitates extending the researcher’s knowledge to other particle accelerator projects after the fellowship.
2) The project associated with the design and implementation of RF/Microwave amplifiers which is the main area of expertise of the researcher and the host. Since RF amplifiers are widely used in a variety of industries (e.g. medical, research, physics, broadcast, cellar cell, Wi-Fi, RF IDs, weather, space, military, oil, and elsewhere), this skill makes them more experienced for subsequent projects.
3) The project will improve both the host and the researcher’s ability in the design of other sophisticated components of high-power microwave devices such as splitter, combiners, and couplers. Understanding the design methodology of the passive sub-systems is a highly valuable skill, since they are employed in the different fields of science e.g. proton therapy for cancer subjects, meteorology and civil and geology radars.
4) The project will provide to the experienced researcher the best mobility experience, both in term of moving between European countries and switching between academic and industry sectors. This experience will enlarge the researcher profile and extend the opportunities for future work position at home or in industry.