Electrical and structural R&D activities on high voltage dc solid insulator in vacuum

This paper describes the R&D work performed in support of the design of the alumina insulators for the MITICA Neutral Beam Injector. The ceramic insulators are critical elements, both from the structural and electrical point of view, of the 1 MV electrostatic accelerator of the MITICA injector, as they are required to sustain both the mechanical loads due to the cantilevered weight of the ion source and the high electric field between the accelerator grids. This paper presents the results of numerical simulations and experimental tests on prototypes that have been carried out to validate the insulator design under realistic operating conditions.