Edge radiation -- a new source of infrared synchrotron radiation with very special characteristics

Abstract

Electron storage rings have become very powerful sources of electromagnetic radiation covering a wide spectral range. In particular, the high-flux, long- wavelength infrared (IR) radiation from synchrotron light sources is increasingly used for spectroscopy in basic and applied research. Besides ordinary IR synchrotron radiation emitted from homogeneous magnetic dipole fields (i.e. dipole radiation DR), another high-brilliant source of IR radiation has been discovered recently, which is emitted by relativistic electrons traversing the inhomogeneous edge fields of bending magnets (i.e. edge radiation ER). In this paper a comparison is made between the very different radiation characteristics of DR and ER. Plans for the construction of a high-brilliant IR beamline at the storage ring DELTA, dedicated to an investigation of ER and to its use as a sensitive tool for electron-beam diagnostics, are presented. Moreover, various experiments for ellipsometry, FT-IR micro-spectroscopy and photothermal IR radiometry, exploiting the well-focussed, broadband IR-photon flux of high intensities are discussed.