1. Synchrotron Radiation Sources

Abstract

The chapter presents a study on synchrotron radiation sources. Synchrotron radiation is a very bright, broadband, polarized, and a pulsed source of light extending from the infrared to the x-ray region. It is an extremely important source of vacuum ultraviolet radiation. Synchrotron radiation covers the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the infrared region through the visible, ultraviolet, and into the x-ray region up to energies of many tens of kilovolts. In electron storage rings, there are the following three possible sources of synchrotron radiation: dipole (bending) magnets; wigglers, which act like a sequence of bending magnets with alternating polarities; and undulators, which are also multiperiod alternating magnet systems but in which the beam deflections are small, resulting in coherent interference of the emitted light. The theory describing synchrotron radiation emission is based on classical electrodynamics. The most important characteristic of accelerators built specifically as synchrotron radiation sources is that they have a magnetic focusing system, which is designed to concentrate the electrons into bunches of very small cross section and to keep the electron transverse velocities small. The chapter presents a discussion on the concept of fourth-generation sources, which have high brightness, and are based on multiparticle coherence. The chapter presents a phenomenological description in order to highlight the general concepts involved.