Compact THz radiation source based on photocathode RF gun

Terahertz (THz) science and technology have already become the research highlight at present. In this paper, we put forward a proposal to generate THz radiation at tens of MW peak power. As a result of the ultrafast laser and the high accelerating field of photocathode RF gun, we can generate and accelerate an electron beam to several MeV, of which the bunch length is less than sub-ps. When the short electron bunches are injected into the wiggler, THz radiation based on Coherent Synchrotron Radiation could be achieved with tens of MW peak power. The whole THz FEL facility can be scaled to the size of a tabletop.

     

Compact narrow-band THz radiation source based on photocathode rf gun

Narrow-band THz coherent Cherenkov radiation can be driven by a subpicosecond electron bunch trav- eling along the axis of a hollow cylindrical dielectric-lined waveguide. We present a scheme of compact THz radiation source based on the photocathode rf gun. On the basis of our analytic result, the subpicosecond electron bunch with high charge （800 pC） can be generated directly in the photocathode rf gun. According to the analytical and simulated results, a narrow emission spectrum peaked at 0.24 THz with 2 megawatt （MW） peak power is expected to gain in the proposed scheme （the length of the facility is about 1.2 m）.     

Compact narrow-band THz radiation source based on photocathode rf gun

Narrow-band THz coherent Cherenkov radiation can be driven by a subpicosecond electron bunch traveling along the axis of a hollow cylindrical dielectric-lined waveguide. We present a scheme of compact THz radiation source based on the photocathode rf gun. On the basis of our analytic result, the subpicosecond electron bunch with high charge (800 pC) can be generated directly in the photocathode rf gun. According to the analytical and simulated results, a narrow emission spectrum peaked at 0.24 THz with 2 megawatt (MW) peak power is expected to gain in the proposed scheme (the length of the facility is about 1.2 m).     

RF gun for an intense THz radiation source

A new facility is under construction at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics,to generate femto-second electron bunches and intense coherent THz radiation pulses.A thermionic RF-gun is used to be the electron source of the linac,which is 1.6 cell,π/2,side coupled in design.In the following of this paper,the design,manufacture and beam operation of this gun are presented.     

RF gun for an intense THz radiation source

A new facility is under construction at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, to generate femto-second electron bunches and intense coherent THz radiation pulses. A thermionic RF-gun is used to be the electron source of the linac, which is 1.6 cell, π², side coupled in design. In the following of this paper, the design, manufacture and beam operation of this gun are presented.     

Study on the W-band photocathode RF gun

In this paper, we continue our W-band photoinjector work. We discuss the production of a high brightness femtosecond bunch using our proposed W-band photoinjector under different parameters. The parameters of the produced bunch are the energy of 1.2 MeV, the length of 60 fs, the peak current of 90 A, the normalized emittance of 0.4 mm mrad and the energy spread of 1.9%. Finally, we present some application examples of the proposed photoinjector.     

Ultra-low emittance X-band photocathode RF gun

In this paper, we present the simulation results of a 1.6 cell X-band photocathode RF gun for ultra-low emittance electron beams. It will work at 9.3 GHz. The emittance, bunch length, electron energy and energy spread at the gun exit are optimized at bunch charge of 1pC using PARMELA. Electron bunches with emittance about 0.1 mm·mrad and bunch length less than 100 fs can be obtained from this gun. A PITZ type coupler is adopted in this gun and an initial simulation by MAFIA is also given in this paper.     

Ultra-low emittance X-band photocathode RF gun

In this paper, we present the simulation results of a 1.6 cell X-band photocathode RF gun for ultra-low emittance electron beams. It will work at 9.3 GHz. The emittance, bunch length, electron energy and energy spread at the gun exit are optimized at bunch charge of 1pC using PARMELA. Electron bunches with emittance about 0.1 mm·mrad and bunch length less than 100 fs can be obtained from this gun. A PITZ type coupler is adopted in this gun and an initial simulation by MAFIA is also given in this paper.     

光阴极微波电子枪驱动激光整形与传输系统

为满足合肥先进光源对高品质注入束流的要求,合肥先进光源预研项目研制了一套光阴极微波电子枪系统作为注入器电子源。为降低空间电荷效应引起的束流发射度增长,对驱动激光整形及传输系统进行了理论和实验研究。通过双折射晶体的脉冲时间整形以及采用光阑高斯截断的空间整形,得到了近似均匀分布的激光脉冲。像传递激光传输光路,实现了光阴极表面激光位置的高稳定性。实验结果显示,光阴极表面的激光位置抖动小于4 μm,激光性能满足实验要求。     

Slice emittance measurement for photocathode RF gun with solenoid scanning and RF deflecting cavity

The radiation of high-gain short-wavelength free-electron laser depends on the slice transverse emittance of the electron bunch. This essay introduces the method of slice emittance measurement, and shows the brief setup of this experiment using the solenoid scanning and RF deflecting cavity at Tsinghua University. The preliminary experimental results show that the slice rms emittance of the electron bunch generated by photocathode RF gun has considerable variations along the bunch and is typically less than 0.55 mm mrad for the laser rms radius of 0.4 mm.

     

Design of a new compact THz source based on Smith-Purcell radiation

In recent years, people are dedicated to the research work of finding compact THz sources with high emission power. Smith-Purcell radiation is qualified for the possibility of coherent enhancement due to the effect of FEL mechanism. The compact experiment device is expected to produce hundreds mW level THz ray. The electron beam with good quality is provided under the optimized design of the electron gun. Besides, the grating is designed as an oscillator without any external feedbacks. While the beam passes through the grating surface, the beam bunching will be strong and the second harmonics enhancement will be evident, as is seen from the simulation results.     

Design of a new compact THz source based on Smith-Purcell radiation

In recent years, people are dedicated to the research work of finding compact THz sources with high emission power. Smith-Purcell radiation is qualified for the possibility of coherent enhancement due to the effect of FEL mechanism. The compact experiment device is expected to produce hundreds mW level THz ray. The electron beam with good quality is provided under the optimized design of the electron gun. Besides, the grating is designed as an oscillator without any external feedbacks. While the beam passes through the grating surface, the beam bunching will be strong and the second harmonics enhancement will be evident, as is seen from the simulation results.     

Emittance measurement & optimization for the photocathode RF gun with laser profile shaping

The Laser Undulator Compact X-ray source （LUCX） is a test bench for a compact high brightness X-ray generator, based on inverse Compton Scattering at KEK, which requires high intensity multi-bunch trains with low transverse emittance. A photocathode RF gun with emittance compensation solenoid is used as an electron source. Much endeavor has been made to increase the beam intensity in the multi-bunch trains. The cavity of the RF gun is tuned into an unbalanced field in order to reduce space charge effects, so that the field gradient on the cathode surface is relatively higher when the forward RF power into gun cavity is not high enough. A laser profile shaper is employed to convert the driving laser profile from Gaussian into uniform. In this research we seek to find the optimized operational conditions for the decrease of the transverse emittance. With the uniform driving laser and the unbalanced RF gun, the RMS transverse emittance of a 1 nC bunch has been improved effectively from 5.46 πmm·mrad to 3.66 πmm·mrad.     

Emittance measurement & optimization for the photocathode RF gun with laser profile shaping

The Laser Undulator Compact X-ray source(LUCX) is a test bench for a compact high brightness X-ray generator,based on inverse Compton Scattering at KEK,which requires high intensity multi-bunch trains with low transverse emittance.A photocathode RF gun with emittance compensation solenoid is used as an electron source.Much endeavor has been made to increase the beam intensity in the multi-bunch trains.The cavity of the RF gun is tuned into an unbalanced field in order to reduce space charge effects,so that ...     

Emittance measurement & optimization for the photocathode RF gun with laser profile shaping

The Laser Undulator Compact X-ray source(LUCX) is a test bench for a compact high brightness X-ray generator,based on inverse Compton Scattering at KEK,which requires high intensity multi-bunch trains with low transverse emittance.A photocathode RF gun with emittance compensation solenoid is used as an electron source.Much endeavor has been made to increase the beam intensity in the multi-bunch trains.The cavity of the RF gun is tuned into an unbalanced field in order to reduce space charge effects,so that the field gradient on the cathode surface is relatively higher when the forward RF power into gun cavity is not high enough.A laser profile shaper is employed to convert the driving laser profile from Gaussian into uniform.In this research we seek to find the optimized operational conditions for the decrease of the transverse emittance.With the uniform driving laser and the unbalanced RF gun,the RMS transverse emittance of a 1 nC bunch has been improved effectively from 5.46 πmm.mrad to 3.66 πmm.mrad.     

Experimental verification of laser photocathode RF gun as aninjector for a laser plasma accelerator

The feasibility of the laser photocathode RF gun, BNL/GUN-IV, as an injector for a laser plasma accelerator was investigated at the subpicosecond S-band twin linac system of the Nuclear Engineering Research Laboratory, University of Tokyo. Electron beam energy of 16 MeV, emittance of 6π mm mrad, bunch length of 240 fs (FWHM), and charge per bunch of 350 pC were confirmed at 10 Hz. As for diagnosis of the femtosecond electron bunch, the quantitative comparison of performance of the femtosecond streak camera, the coherent transition radiation (CTR) Michelson interferometer, and the far-infrared polychromator was carried out. We concluded that the streak camera is the most reliable up to 200 fs and that the polychromator is the best for the shorter electron bunch. The 3.5-ps (rms) resolved synchronization between the YLF laser driver for the gun and the electron bunch was achieved. Based on the above experiences, we have designed and installed a much better laser-electron synchronization system using the Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser with the min harmonics synchrolocker and the stable 15-MW klystron. The timing jitter is expected to be suppressed down to 320 fs (rms)     

Compact X-ray radiograph based on a plasma gun

The results of the experiments on the formation of a plasma emitter with small spatial dimensions for pulsed radiography in the soft X-ray spectral range are presented. Emitting hot plasma was formed as a result of compression of the plasma jet by a current pulse with amplitude I _m = 215 kA and rise time T _fr = 200 ns. For the jet formation, we used a plasma gun based on the arc discharge (I _m = 8.5 kA and T _fr = 6 μs) initiated by breakdown over the surface of a dielectric in vacuum. The experiments were carried out with aluminum, tin, copper, and iron plasma jets. A single emitter, i.e., point Z-pinch (PZ-pinch), was formed when an interelectrode gap of a high current generator of 1.3–1.5 mm was used. The smallest spatial dimensions of the emitting region were obtained with the use of aluminum and tin. For a tin jet, the diameter of the emitting region was 7 ± 2 μm and its height was 17 ± 2 μm. The emission pulse duration at half-height was 2–3 ns. The total emission yield per pulse in the spectral range 1.56–1.90 keV was 30–50 mJ for the aluminum pinch and 10–30 mJ for the tin pinch. The developed method makes it possible to carry out radiographic examination of microobjects (including biological ones) 1–1000 μm in thickness, with spatial (10–20 μm) and time (2–3 ns) resolution.     

高重复频率相干衍射辐射超宽谱太赫兹源

研究了一种新型相干衍射辐射（CDR）太赫兹源,该太赫兹源基于中国工程物理研究院自由电子激光相干强太赫兹源（FEL-THz）的加速器电子束束流,具有MHz量级重复频率。理论分析、数值计算和PIC模拟证明了此太赫兹源时间长度可达到ps量级,中心频率在100~400 GHz可调,截止频率位于1~2 THz,脉冲峰值功率可达10 kW量级,平均功率可达到W量级,并且功率随束流流强成平方正比关系。     

高重复频率相干衍射辐射超宽谱太赫兹源

研究了一种新型相干衍射辐射（CDR）太赫兹源,该太赫兹源基于中国工程物理研究院自由电子激光相干强太赫兹源（FEL-THz）的加速器电子束束流,具有MHz量级重复频率。理论分析、数值计算和PIC模拟证明了此太赫兹源时间长度可达到ps量级,中心频率在100~400 GHz可调,截止频率位于1~2 THz,脉冲峰值功率可达10 kW量级,平均功率可达到W量级,并且功率随束流流强成平方正比关系。     

High power THz source based on coherent radiation of picosecond relativistic electron bunch train

Tunable and compact high power terahertz (THz) radiation based on coherent radiation (CR) of the picosecond relativistic electron bunch train is under development at the Tsinghua accelerator lab. Coherent synchronization radiation (CSR) and coherent transition radiation (CTR) are researched based on an S-band compact electron linac, a bending magnet or a thin foil. The bunch train’s form factors, which are the key factor of THz radiation, are analyzed by the PARMELA simulation. The effects of electron bunch trains under different conditions, such as the bunch number, bunch charges, micro-pulses inter-distance, and accelerating gradient of the gun are investigated separately in this paper. The optimal radiated THz power and spectra should take these factors as a whole into account.