Klystrons are the workhorses of high-power particle accelerators around the world. The continued reliable
operation of world-leading scientific research depends on these vacuum tubes and, more broadly, a stable
market of supply. Typically based on variable funding, the scientific market has been historically volatile.
However, in the early 2020s, the volatility increased dramatically in large part due to the COVID-19
epidemic and the disruption it caused in both the supply chain and the labor market. The unsettled
conditions severely affected the scientific klystron market.
In late 2024, representatives from the Spallation Neutron Source, European Spallation Source, Argonne
National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory formed a committee with the charge to
plan and hold a workshop to discuss the present state of the scientific klystron market and determine the
concrete steps needed to stabilize it for the future. Explicit in the charge was that the workshop must
include both suppliers and end users. To that end, the first Long-Pulse and Continuous Wave (CW)
Klystron Workshop was held at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source
September 23–25, 2025.